The Battle Within'
by J.Lynn.o5
Summary: Daryl finally rids himself from the terrors left behind and finds a place to call home, to be his serenity; but will the scars of his past ruin the course of his future? Can he fight the battle within? Eventual Daryl/Beth... Warning: Contains Smut & Bad Language. Complete Alternate Universe/ Does Not Involve the Zombie Apocalypse!
1. Welcome to Senoia

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or the characters, just my story-line :)**

* * *

The rain crashed against the outdated, half lit 'Senoia Motel' sign, and a loud crack of thunder echoed through the gloomy parking lot. Daryl recounted the remaining amount of money in his hand for a second time, mentally weighing the positives and negatives of tapping into his limited funds.

"What's it gonna be kid? You payin' or not?" an undersized man with a tattered white beard and a lazy eye grumbled through the small office window. Daryl enfolded the cash in his hands for a second hesitantly, but then nodded and painfully passed four twenty dollar bills through the small opening on the bottom. He didn't have much money left, but he really needed somewhere to crash for the night. Park benches and wooden gazebos did the job mostly; but between the soreness in his back and the torrential down pours, a bed was starting to sound like a dream come true. After a few minutes, the man returned to the window and slid a labeled key through the opening, "it's around the bend… checkout s'at eleven, not a minute later". Daryl removed the key and narrowed his eyes at the old man, before giving a slight nod and walking away. The guy was obviously nasty to his potential customers, and if it wasn't for the fact that Daryl needed the room for the night, he would have told him _where to go_.

Daryl walked over to his parked motorcycle and grabbed a large green duffle bag tied securely to the end of the seat, and continued walking around the bend until he approached door twenty two. He unlocked it and found a worn-down double bed, a nightstand, and a small bulky TV; probably twice his age. It was perfect for him; all he was really concerned about was the _bed_ and the _roof_. Comfortable, warm and dry – _that's all that mattered_. After setting his bag down on the floor, he immediately headed for the shower, removing his ragged leather vest along the way. It had been a while since he took a hot shower, _hell_; _it had been a while since he was able to take a shower in general_. Besides quickly cleaning himself in gas station bathrooms along the way, he hadn't had anywhere to take a real one since he left.

He turned on the shower and let the steam fill the small yellow tinted bathroom as he removed his shirt, leaned up against the sink, and stared at himself in the mirror. His arms and back displayed slightly faded bruises, matching the shadowy black and blue tone underneath his right eye. They were finally healing, and looked rather good compared to the weeks prior; but just knowing they were still there, along with the many other scars his body held, angered him. They were like battle scars from a war that he _never_ wanted any part of.

As the steam started fogging up the mirror, Daryl wiped his hand across it, clearing a circle. He traced his fingers across one of the bruises on his right shoulder and after a few seconds of studying it, he closed his eyes and massaged the temples of his forehead with his thumbs, trying to shake his mind from the memories.

* * *

Daryl exited the bathroom, his hair still wet from the shower as it shagged across his face. He had a black pair of boxer-briefs on, and a white towel draped around his neck, soaking up any excess water dripping down his neck. He plopped down on the bed, stretching his feet out in front of him as he pulled the cover up to his waist and rested his back against the pillow and the old wooden headboard. He _missed_ her, his little girl. It had been the longest he'd gone without seeing her since she was born, and it was killing him inside; but this was something he _needed_ to do. _He wasn't going back there_. He gently lifted the receiver of the ancient beige rotary phone that sat on the nightstand, and maneuvered his fingers through the circular numbers as he dialed. He waited as the phone rang a few times, and after the forth ring she answered.

"Hello?" Carol said through the receiver, her voice a bit groggy.

"It's me" Daryl said simply, "Sorry I know it's kinda' late"

"Yeah it is", her voice slightly irritated, "Where are you?"

"Some motel in South Georgia… there's a phone, so I wanted to call to talk to Sophia, is she up?"

Carol exhaled, "Yeah, she's up", her voice hesitant for a few seconds, "Daryl you know she's been asking where you are right?"

"I know" he said, taking a deep breath to follow, "I can't come back there right now, you know that"

"Listen, I get it okay?" her voice soft, "but you need to think about Sophia too alright? She misses you"

Daryl shut his eyes momentarily, "Jus' let me talk to her"

He heard Carol sigh, but she didn't respond. It was quiet for a few minutes until she was heard in the background, telling Sophia that her daddy was on the phone.

A small, yet excited voice flooded the receiver, "Daddy?!"

"Hey baby girl", a smile cracked across Daryl's lips, "whatcha' doin'?"

"Nuffin'… Momma's tryna' make me go to bed; but I didn't wanna", her voice became softer, "I miss you Daddy, when am I gonna' see you?"

Daryl's heart broke a little, "I know baby girl, I miss you too; and I'll see you soon alright?"

"Okay", she said melancholy and Daryl shut his eyes to cope with the guilt.

"Aright, well you go listen to your momma and get ready for bed… I love you Sophia"

"Okay, I love you too Daddy"

Daryl smiled a little as she spoke the words. His daughter meant the world to him, and even though he couldn't be there right at that moment, he knew eventually he'd figure things out.

"Hey", Carol returned to the phone, "So you know the house is gone right? Nothin' but a pile of ashes and saw dust now"

"Yeah, well… it never was anything spectacular anyway", Daryl said.

"Those insurance agents have been around. They're lookin' for next of kin or something… I told em' I hadn't seen you in weeks"

"They're probably jus' looking for someone to pay the rest of the mortgage owed or somethin', and they sure as hell ain't gettin' it from me", Daryl bit a piece of skin from his thumb, "that house was never my home… more like a fuckin' prison"

Carol sighed, "I know… but you can't just live on the road forever Daryl. Sophia really misses her dad around"

"Yeah I know", Daryl said, his voice becoming irritated, "Imma' figure it out and I'll call her in a couple days"

"Alright" Carol replied simply, knowing that the conversation was coming to an end.

"I gotta' go" Daryl said before hanging the phone up on the receiver.

He swiped a hand through his dampened hair and let his head fall back against the headboard. He wished things were simpler. He would never regret his little girl; but things were a lot more complicated than she could understand. He knew he needed to figure out what he was going to do, and if he took off on the road any further, he would be too far to see Sophia often. Maybe this town would be okay, it was only an hour and a half from her. Maybe it could work. He decided it was all too much to think about at the moment and he really needed sleep. So with that, he shut the dim table lamp off, and slid down into the covers.

* * *

The next morning Daryl woke up, got dressed and returned the key to the office, hours before the checkout time. He wanted to get a head start on the morning and begin planning what his next moves were. He had a full and comfortable nights rest and the only thing missing was some food in his stomach. He slowed on his bike and pulled into a small diner parking lot. The place was small, resembling a trailer almost. He figured the food couldn't be too expensive and he could smell the aroma from outside, so there was no fighting his inner hunger at that point.

After parking his bike and entering the place, a hostess sat him in a booth on the far end, next to a window. Coffee was already set on the table with a couple of milk, cream, and sugar packets next to it. He didn't use any of them though, he preferred his coffee black. He started out sipping the hot coffee; but eventually his sips quickly increased as his mouth savored the taste of, well, _anything_. He had been really careful on what he spent his money on since leaving, and would only eat when it was absolutely necessary and his stomach couldn't hold out any longer. _This was one of those times_. He really hadn't eaten anything the day before, besides a couple fifty cent beef jerky's he picked up at a gas station, so he was really feeling the rumbling in his stomach by then.

"Good morning, care for a refill?" a perky southern voice caused Daryl to look up, "I'm Lori, I'll be your waitress", she said with a smile.

"Uh, yeah I guess I'll take a refill..." Daryl said as the woman poured more coffee into his cup, "how much is this anyway?"

"Oh, the coffee?" she chuckled, "We don't charge for the coffee Hun, it's on the house"

Daryl gave a quick nod and muttered uncomfortably, "Thanks"

Lori noticed his introverted body language, but she continued anyway, "So, can I get you somethin' to eat? I recommend the eggs with the southern style grits, they're a customer favorite"

"Alright, I'll take that" Daryl said, while handing Lori the menu, still avoiding direct eye contact.

"Okay then" her eye's creased a little in confusion, "I'll go get that for you"

She walked off to place Daryl's order and he began sipping his refilled coffee again. The coffee was pretty good there, and he made a mental note to remember that they gave it out for free. Waiting for his order, there was nothing else to do besides look out the window at the diners' surroundings. It was obviously a small town, and not much stores along the stretched out roads. He was from a small town too, but things were a lot more urban where he was from. He lived on the side of town that people were afraid to drive through, and would rather take a forty minute alternate route than drive through the streets of _terror_. This place was a lot nicer and seemed very low-key. He figured Sophia would probably like it; lots of land to play and run around on; but he had no idea how much the houses or apartments were around there either, if he'd even be able to afford one.

As he stared out at the street, his eyes caught sight of a small car shop across the street with a 'Help Wanted' sign placed on the outside window. He narrowed his eyes to get a better view and could see a young Asian man underneath the hood of an old red Cadillac. Mechanical work was pretty much the only thing he had experience in. He had worked in his uncles shop since he was ten years old, basically learning as he went along. He didn't have a high school diploma or any degrees and if he had to create a resume', mechanical work would be the only thing he could actually put on it.

Suddenly Lori returned to the table with his plate of food; steam drifting off of it as she placed it down in front of him.

"Here ya go. Two eggs and southern style grits. Enjoy Hun" she said; but as she was about to walk away, Daryls' voice surprised her.

"Can I ask you a question?" he said cautiously.

"Sure, ask away?" she said, throwing a white dish towel over her shoulder.

"How is this town? Is the price of living high or anything?"

She chuckled, "In little ol' Senoia? Not at all sweetheart. I'm guessin' you ain't from around here?"

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, I'm from Northern Georgia; but I'm thinkin' about stayin' here"

"Well, it's a small population, only about a couple thousand. Everybody pretty much knows everyone. Jobs are hard to come by, but when you do have one, they usually pay enough to get by. Apartments and trailers are pretty cheap, no more than a couple hundred a month. That's unless you try an buy a farm or somethin', then land can get pretty pricey… are you relocating for a job or somethin'?

"Nah" Daryl poked at his eggs with his fork, "jus' relocating"

Lori nodded, "Well, the best advice I can give ya, is to get a job first and see how it goes"

Daryl pointed out towards the shop across the street, "Thinkin' about starting there"

Lori looked and then smiled, "Oh yeah? You have experience with cars?"

"Somethin' like that"

"Well Dale, he's the owner, he's a nice guy and very kind hearted. I'm sure he could use help from someone with experience. I've known him for a long time, that shops been there since I was little. It was passed down from his father I believe… been in business for over fifty years or so", Daryl nodded and Lori continued, "Give it a try, doesn't hurt"

"Yeah I'm gonna" he said, taking a scoop of grits to his mouth, "thanks"

"No problem Hun, glad I could be of some help" Lori replied with a smile before walking away to take the next table's orders.

Daryl continued eating his food while glancing over at the shop from the window a few times. It would be ideal if he could score a job so soon, but he was prepared for disappointment. _His life had always been filled with it_.

* * *

Daryl scraped the last piece of food off his plate, placed the money on the table, along with a tip for the helpful waitress, and made his way towards the exit of the diner. He was going to thank Lori again, but he didn't see her and he really wanted to get a move on towards the shop.

He crossed the street, not even bothering to check the traffic because there pretty much was none, and made his way towards the small Asian by the Cadillac.

"Excuse me?" Daryl said as he approached the Asian from behind.

"Just take a ticket" he yelled from inside the hood without looking.

"Nah, I'm here to ask about the help wanted sign?" Daryl said with his eyes creased.

The Asian looked up curiously and wiped his hands on a dirty oiled up towel, "Really?"

"Yeah, really" he said, still confused, "are you Dale?"

"No, I'm Glen… Dale is in the back office over there" he pointed to a wooden door on the far end of the garage, "sorry, we just uh, don't get many interested candidates, that's all"

Daryl raised one brow "oh… well I'm interested, so can I talk to him?"

"Do you have experience?" Glen asked.

"Yeah"

Glen smiled, "Alright cool… yeah go on back"

Daryl nodded as he walked past him, wondering why he was so shocked to see someone inquiring about a job. _Was the town really so quiet?_

Daryl knocked once on the door before slowly entering, finding an older man with white hair and a green hat sitting at the desk with his feet up, watching some talk show.

"Hi, are you Dale?" Daryl asked, scanning the room in confusion.

"That's me, can I help you?" the man said invitingly, his feet remaining up on the desk.

"Uh. I was just inquiring about the help wanted sign out front?"

"You got experience?"

"Yeah… worked for a families shop for twelve years"

Dales eyes met Daryl, "Well, that's pretty extensive… when can you start?"

Daryl wasn't expecting that; but he replied anyway, "Um, whenever… I could be here tomorrow if you'd like"

Dale nodded his head, "You new around here?"

"Somethin' like that"

"You lookin' for a temporary thing or long term?"

"Uh, I was hopin' for long term" Daryl said.

"Lori called me" Dale looked at Daryl, who raised an eyebrow, "She told me you're not from here… but lookin' to start a life here… said you'd be comin' over to talk to me. She said that she felt you needed a helping hand"

Daryl wasn't sure what to say, "She got all that from a two minute conversation?"

Dale laughed and swung his feet down from the desk, "She's good like that. She's a good woman, she tries to help people out when she can"

"Well, that was nice of her" Daryl replied, still confused.

"Aright well" Dale folded his hands on the desk, "why don't you start tomorrow? I'll give you a few things to do, we'll see what you know and what you don't know, and Glen will be out there to help if you get stuck"

"Really?" Daryl said, shocked that the man was willing to hire him already, "thanks, I'll definitely be here"

Dale gave a friendly smile, "Alright then… 9am, and don't be late"

"You've got it" Daryl said as he started to exit the office, still completely shocked at how well that went.

"Hey, uh son?" Dale called out, and Daryl turned mid-way, "You didn't say your name"

"Oh… it's Daryl"

Dale nodded, "Alright Daryl… see ya tomorrow"

Daryl nodded and exited the office with a small smile cracked across his lips.

* * *

**So this is my first Fanfic! I thought of this a while ago; but just decided to post it. It is not related to any Zombie Apocalypse stuff, but the story-line involves all the characters, just in different context. This is an eventual Daryl/Beth story and has a great deal of bad language and smut, so the rating will definitely change at some point. So please let me know your thoughts! What do you think Daryl is running from?**


	2. Jus' One Night

_**THANK YOU to everyone that reviewed, favored, and followed! Can't even explain how excited I was to see how many people were interested! So, this chapter is a tiny bit shorter than the first; however, the following chapters will increase in length, so don't get too bummed :)**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or the characters; just my story line :)**

* * *

After shutting the office door, Daryl walked through the garage, spotting the young Asian, Glen, rolled underneath the Cadillac and tapping his foot to the beat of the radio playing beside him. There weren't many cars in the shop, besides the one being worked on and an old Chevrolet in the corner. Daryl figured things were relatively slow normally, and the shop probably only seen one or two cars every couple of days. The whole town seemed slow-paced, and little to no action anywhere. It was something he would have to get used to; however, it was a welcomed change nonetheless.

Daryl quickly and silently walked past Glen, in efforts to avoid the somewhat weird and eager Asians' small talk; but as soon as he stepped off the curb and into the street, towards the diner parking lot, a voice called out to him.

"Hey," Glen yelled, "wait up!"

Daryl paused aversely once he reached the other side of the street, and looked back to find Glen keenly jogging in his direction.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked with one eyebrow raised, solidifying his judgment of the kid.

Glen finally approached him, a little out of breath, "So did he hire you? Are you going to be working here?"

"Yeah, I guess so… supposed to start tomorrow… why?" Daryl said with a little bit of irritated confusion.

"No, I- I was just wondering… it's just been Dale and I for a while now. He's usually inside the office most of the day and I'm in the shop alone… I was kind of looking forward to having someone else around to work with and talk to"

Daryl creased his face at first, but began walking away towards his bike and muttered, "Yeah well, I ain't much of a talker"

Glen followed, despite Daryl's unwelcoming attitude, "So, are you from here? Or did you just move here or something?"

"Nah", Daryl said as he kicked the stand back on his bike and dropped his black-rimmed sunglasses down onto his face, "I ain't from here"

"Oh okay" Glen nodded, "me either. I moved here about six years ago". Daryl nodded, but his expression made it clear that he was uninterested. "Cool bike" Glen said, trying to get on Daryl's good side, as he admired the black 72-79 XS650 chopper, "you have to be from out of town to have one of those… we don't have parts like that here". Daryl ignored him again and began revving up the engine. At that point, Glen just took the hint that the guy wasn't much for conversation and instead of pressing the issue; he figured he would get a chance to talk to him the next day anyway, "Okay, well I'll see you in the morning then"

Daryl backed up out of the lot without responding and took off down the road, leaving Glen standing there and a cloud of smoke from the dirt behind him. He wasn't sure whether or not his stay in the town would last; but so far, it had been a pretty good day – _minus the strange over-talkative kid from the shop_.

* * *

The sun was starting to set and as the streets of the small down became increasingly quieter than they already were, Daryl knew he had to figure out where his sleeping spot would be for the night. He had to admit that after sleeping in a bed the night before, a park bench seemed a lot less appealing; however, the air was cool, the skies were clear, and he really couldn't afford another eighty dollars for a room. He knew it would probably take a few weeks before he'd be able to save up enough money for an apartment, so he'd figured he minds well get used to the idea.

As he circled around the darkening streets towards the local park area, he pulled to an abrupt stop when he saw a group of teenagers laughing and messing around near the benches.

"Figures", he muttered as he shook his head. Normally once the street lights came on, it was like a ghost-town, with not one person in sight; _of course_, the one night he needed to get a good night's rest for work in the morning, _there would be a group of teenagers hanging out in the park_. There were about five or six of them there, and he was almost positive there was a large bottle of booze sitting on the bench beside them, so he knew they weren't planning on leaving anytime soon.

There was nothing else to do but drive and try to find another secluded spot to crash. He took off down the road and made a couple of turns along the way. Every single mom and pop shop, gas station, grocery store, was all closed. No one was out on the streets; it was like the place was secluded once night fell. The quietness was nice though, and the wide open sky, filled with hundreds of stars was pretty relaxing.

He continued on a dirt filled road, but began slowing when he noticed a wide field to the right of him. There were small fences lined around it, and he could see a red barn of some sort in the distance. He swung the bike around and drove towards it to get a better view, and once he reached the fence he saw a decent size house a couple yards from the barn. There were lights on in a few of the windows, and a dim porch light as well. He knew someone obviously lived in the house, but if he could somehow make it towards the barn it would probably be a good place to crash for the night. That is, _as long as the owner didn't catch him_. However, he only needed a couple of hours at most. He'd have to get up pretty early to make it to the shop by nine anyway, so he could probably sneak out before anyone had a chance to see him.

After scanning the land for a few minutes and making sure there were no guard dogs or anything ready to tear him apart once he hopped the fence, he decided to try it. What did he really have to lose?

He shut his motorcycle off and slowly guided it towards a small wooded area on the opposite side of the road to hide it, so no one would see it and become suspicious. Once securing it in a concealed place, he strapped his bag over his shoulder and took a few more glances of the surroundings before quickly hopping the fence and carefully making a run towards the barn.

He reached it relatively quickly, and as far as he could tell, no one had noticed. He slowly slid the wooden lock up from the door, cautiously peeking inside before entering. It was empty, besides one horse secured with string to a post, and a couple of wheelbarrows and pitchforks. However, there was hay, and _lots of it_.

Daryl quickly slipped into the barn, careful not to make any noise when closing the door behind him. He flicked on his lighter to shine some light and turned in a complete circle to really examine the entire barn. Within seconds he noticed a ladder that led up to a decent sized hayloft, and immediately decided that it was the best idea to stay up there, just in case someone happened to come into the barn, hopefully there would be less of a chance of them seeing him there.

He quickly climbed up the ladder and kicked around some hay to make a comfortable sleeping spot. Once satisfied, he took a seat and placed his duffle bag behind him, to substitute as a pillow. He leaned back, placing his arms up and behind his head, and just stared out the small square window. He had a decent view of the house, which was an even greater advantage to see if someone was coming towards the barn.

It wasn't too bad, the custom-made hay bed. Hell, it was a lot better than a cold hard wooden bench. However, if caught, the owner would probably call the police for trespassing, or even worse, may possibly shoot him if he had a gun; but the risk was worth it for one night. He wouldn't risk it a second time, and he was sure that those teenagers wouldn't be in the park a second night in a row, so he'd go back there the next day.

As he stretched out his legs, and made himself even more comfortable; he felt his body surrendering to exhaustion. Lately, no amount of sleep was enough between uncomfortable surfaces and vivid memories appearing in his dreams. He could have the best sleep of his life, and yet would wake up constantly from reoccurring night terrors of his past. Even in subconscious mind, he couldn't escape reality. However, good or bad, he _needed_ to sleep… and with that he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to take over.

* * *

The morning sun slowly crept over the horizon and Daryl awoke to a slight beam of light shining through the square window. His eyes creased momentarily until he realized that the sun rising meant it was time to go… an fast, before the owner of the house came out to tend to the farm.

"Shit" he muttered, as he glanced down at the watch on his right wrist. It was already 6am and way past his intended time to flee the barn. He jumped up quickly, strapped his duffle bag over his shoulder and peeked out the window to make sure no one was around.

When he determined the area was clear, he swiftly descended down the ladder and out the barn door, making sure to place the wooden lock back down, just as it had been previously. He took one more scope of the surroundings and then bolted across the field towards the fence.

Just after he hopped over it, and dashed across the road to the woods, he was startled by the engine of a car in the distance. He positioned himself behind a tree and observed a young blonde woman exiting the house and walking towards a brunette inside a pickup truck. The brunette was yelling something to the blonde, which Darryl couldn't make out clearly, due to the distance, but it was obvious that she was rushing the girl into the car. Daryl waited a few minutes, until the two woman drove up the path, out of the fences and down the road.

"That was close" he mumbled to himself as he secured his duffle bag onto the back of his bike, kicked the stand up, and revved the engine to life. Now he needed to figure out a place to grab a quick bite to eat and head towards the shop for his first day of work. And with that, he slid a single cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, placed his sunglasses over his eyes, took one more glance back towards the farm, and drove off onto the road.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts! :)**_


	3. You Know Them?

_**Hi! **_

_**So I can't believe how many people are enjoying this story... I was so shocked to receive so many alerts for reviews, favorites, and follows already! I am so glad that you all are interested, so thank you! I just wanted to clear something up real quick before it came into question... the ages in this story are different from the show... Daryl is only about 25 or so, and Beth is 21... Glen is about 23, and so is Maggie... Lori is also older, at least late thirties to early forties. I just wanted to make sure no one became confused over mentioning of age.**_

_**So with that being said, Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or the characters; just my story line :)**

* * *

Daryl brought his motorcycle to a halt in the diner parking lot. He'd driven around for a while to pass some time, mainly stopping to get gas, and picking up a pack of smokes; but his stomach was growling by then, and he needed to eat something, even if it was a piece of buttered toast. He figured there was no better place to grab something to eat than the diner he'd went to yesterday. The place was convenient to the shop, well-priced, and not to mention the fact that _they served free coffee_, so what the hell?

He made his way up the steps and into the diner, where the same hostess from the day prior, greeted him and directed him to a booth. A hot cup of coffee was waiting for him on the table, just as expected, and he downed it within seconds.

"Well, look who's becomin' a reoccurin' customer now", Lori said with a smile as she walked over to the table with her hand on her hip.

Daryl smiled a little bit, "Can't pass up a free cup of coffee"

"And here I was thinkin' you jus' wanted to see little ol' me again", Lori said jokingly and Daryl let a slight chuckle escape his mouth, "so what can I get for you today Hun?"

"Same as yesterday" Daryl said as he handed Lori the menu and she refilled his cup of coffee.

"Alright, two eggs and southern style grits comin' up"

"Thanks" Daryl said in a low tone, and then hesitantly bit his lip for a second, "Oh and thanks for puttin' a call in over there yesterday", he referenced towards the car shop.

"Don't mention it Hun, Dale's been looking for another mechanic for that place for quite a while now. I didn't do much to sway his mind; jus' mentioned you were heading over there, that's all"

"Well, either way… thanks" Daryl said, a little uncomfortably. He wasn't used to people helping him out, so thanking someone was almost foreign to him. Lori just smiled in return and left to place the order.

Daryl thought about things for a while as he waited for his food. The people in this town seemed very welcoming so far, and he could really get used to things around there. However, as anxiety would always play a part, Daryl wondered if it was just a matter of time before things turned sour… as they always seemed to do in his life.

* * *

After eating his food and finishing up his fourth cup of free coffee, it was almost nine o'clock. He figured he had just enough time to have a quick cigarette before heading over to the shop; so he quickly threw some money on the table to pay for his meal, and made his way out the doors, to the parking lot.

As he swung open the glass door and walked down the steps while lighting a cigarette, he was startled by Lori, who was also leaned up against the wall having a quick smoke.

"Was the food good Hun?" Lori asked, before exhaling.

"Yeah," Daryl took a deep inhale and blew it out, "Left the money on the table"

Lori nodded, "So first day huh? Nervous?"

"Nah, ain't no reason to be nervous… jus' gonna do one of the things I know how to do best, that's all"

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine", she said as she took one last drag of her cigarette before flicking it on the ground and squishing it with her foot.

"Yup" Daryl glanced over out the corner of his eyes.

"Aright, well I better get back in there", Lori wiped her hands along her front apron, "don't be a stranger now alright?" Daryl gave a quick nod and a small smile; he thought the woman was very nice.

"By the way…" Daryl flicked his cigarette out into the lot and looked over at Lori who was starting to make her way up the steps, "the name's Daryl"

Lori gave a wholesome smile, "Well Daryl, good luck and I'll see ya around then". Daryl nodded and Lori went back inside the diner.

Daryl checked his watch again, which read '8:57 am', and figured he better head across the street and get to the shop, "Here goes nothin'" he said to himself as he quickly proceeded across the road.

* * *

When Daryl reached the wooden door to the shop, he attempted to open it; but it was locked. Suddenly Glen appeared through the small window and unchained the latch from the inside.

"Morning new guy!" he said sarcastically with a beaming smile; but it slowly vanished when Daryl did not laugh. He knew the guy was very kept to himself, he got that from their two minute conversation the day before, but a little humor wouldn't kill him.

"Yeah, uh hi" Daryl muttered as he walked through the door and into the closed garage, his face perplexed once again by the over excited Asian, "is Dale here?"

"Nope", Glen said as he re-latched the lock, "he doesn't come in till about ten usually, it's just you and I until then"

Daryl rolled his eyes, and mouthed the words _great_ to himself.

Glen walked over to a small chair and grabbed a dark blue jumpsuit, identical to the one he had on himself, and handed it to Daryl.

"What's this?" Daryl said, eyeing the clothes in his hand.

"Uniform" Glen said, "Boss's rules… says he doesn't want to be blamed if we get oil all over our clothes"

Daryl nodded, but wasn't exactly thrilled. It reminded him of a prison jumpsuit, which wasn't exactly his style of choice, "Is there a bathroom?" he asked.

"Yeah, through the office and to the left" Glen answered as he began pulling the chains down and lifting the shop garage door open.

Daryl walked into the office and to the left, as directed, opened the bathroom door and flicked on the light. He quickly changed into the ugly blue get-up, and returned back into the garage with his clothes in hand.

"You could put those over there on the bench" Glen suggested, and Daryl again complied.

"So, this Cadillac over here", Daryl pointed towards the red car Glen was working on the day before, "What's wrong with it?"

"Oh that piece of junk?" Glen chuckled, "what's not wrong with it? I just try and work on it to kill time, when there are no customers in the shop"

Daryl looked confused, "So it don't even belong to anyone?"

"Nope," Glen said as he tried to tidy up some loose tools and place them in a big red box, "I take parts I need from it every now and then, but it's basically a dummy car"

Daryl walked around the red Cadillac, examining it, "It's a classic car, ain't it? Gotta be more than fifty years old"

"Sixty four actually" Glen said as he took a seat one of the white plastic chairs next to the garage door, "It's a 1950, series 61"

Daryl nodded, "So why not do something with it? For yourself or somethin'?"

"I don't know" Glen said with a slight chuckle, "I don't exactly see me as the type to drive an old muscle car"

Daryl raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Yeah, you're right"

Glen knew that was somewhat of an insult, but he was happy the guy was at least making some kind of conversation with him.

"So, you said yesterday that you weren't from here. How did you end up here?"

Daryl leaned up against the garage door and rolled his eyes, _the questions were beginning_, "Jus' did"

Glen's eyebrows creased, "So where did you come from?"

Daryl took a deep breath, "North Georgia"

Glen nodded, "I'm from Chicago. Came here about six years ago when my parents were killed in a car accident"

Daryl looked over at Glen through the corner of his eyes, "Sorry"

"Nah, don't be" Glen shook his head, "I've accepted it… took me a few years; but I'm okay now"

Daryl nodded; there wasn't much he could really say. He knew what it was like to lose a parent; but those were different circumstances that Glen probably would never understand, "So why'd you come all the way down here?"

"My Dad used to live here when he was younger… Dale was an old family friend and when he found out about the accident, he flew out for the burial, and then he took me back with him… said he owed it to my Dad"

"That was nice of him" Daryl said simply.

"Yeah, Dale's a great guy. He's got his rules and what not, but if it wasn't for him…", Glen paused for a second, "…I'm not sure what I would've done… I had no other family"

Daryl thought about what Glen said for a few minutes, maybe the kid wasn't so bad after all. Yeah, he was a little over enthusiastic sometimes; but maybe that was just because of what he'd been through. Maybe it was a way of coping with the things he'd experienced.

Suddenly a brown pickup truck pulled into the garage and over towards the far right, where it parked and the engine shut off. Daryl looked confused for a few seconds, until Dale jumped out of the drivers' seat. _He noticed the weird fisherman-type hat right away_.

"Good morning" Dale said as he grabbed a crinkled up newspaper from the truck and slammed the door.

"Mornin'" Daryl said and gave a quick nod.

"You were here at 9:00 sharp right Daryl?" Dale asked with a smile.

"Yeah, he was" Glen answered for him.

"Good, well I'll be inside if you boys need anything" he said as he made his way into the office and closed the door.

Daryl looked over at Glen, "He just sits in there all day?"

"Pretty much" Glen said with a light laugh.

A few minutes of silence passed and Daryl was already beginning to realize just how dead the place actually was. Not one car in sight and he had no idea how long it would be before they would even get an inquiring customer.

"So are there ever any customers?" Daryl couldn't help but ask, the boredom was already getting to him.

"Yeah, usually a couple a day", Glen kicked some dirt underneath his sneaker, "this weeks been a bit slow though"

Daryl took a deep breath and stared out onto the quiet street. It was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

It was just past four thirty and the shop only had a short while before closing. The day had been relatively the same as the morning, besides about three cars here and there for minor things like an oil change and a tune-up. Most of the day Glen just talked, and even though Daryl nodded his way through the conversations, he barely heard much of what Glen was saying. He wasn't joking when he said he was looking forward to having someone to talk to.

Glen had finally stopped rambling and was cleaning up the garage to prepare for closing time. Daryl grabbed his clothes off the bench and made his way into the office towards the bathroom to change back into his normal clothing. Dale was standing up, tidying up his things, and also preparing to leave for the day, when Daryl walked past him.

"So Daryl?" Glen asked, and Daryl paused at the bathroom door, "How was your first day? Not too much to handle right?"

"Nah" Daryl said, "it was fine"

"Good" Dale smiled, "so it's safe to say that you'll be back tomorrow then right?"

Daryl let a small chuckle escape his mouth, "Yeah, I'll be here"

Daryl closed the door and Dale exited the office towards the garage.

"Leaving?" Glen asked as Dale made his way towards his truck.

"Yeah, I'm gonna head on home. You're goin' to Maggie's for dinner right?"

"Yeah, I shouldn't be back too late" Glen answered.

"Alright, well make sure you close up before you leave" Dale said as he jumped into the drivers' seat and starting the truck.

"I will" Glen yelled out, and Dale backed up out of the garage, then disappearing onto the street.

Daryl walked out a few minutes later, now back in his normal clothing, a pair of grungy jeans, a green t-shirt and a leather vest over it.

Right as Glen was about to pull the chains on the garage door, a blue pick-up pulled up out front, with a blonde woman in the passenger seat and a brunette woman in the drivers' seat, who was honking her horn. Glen smiled and extended one finger out, to tell her he'd be there in a few minutes. Immediately Daryl recognized the truck, it was the same one that had pulled out of the driveway by the farm he sneaked out of earlier that morning.

"You know them?" Daryl said, his curiosity growing.

"Yep" Glen said as he pulled the garage door down and latched the bottom, "That's my girlfriend and her sister"

Daryl nodded; but he had to admit he was a little shocked that the kid even had a girl in the first place.

"We're actually about to go get something to eat down at the BBQ shack, you want to come with?" Glen suggested, "The food is unbelievable"

Daryl hated to admit that the thought of food was really appealing; however, he really didn't have the money to blow on it, "Nah I'm alright"

"Oh come on', I insist" Glen waved his hands, "My treat, come'on"

Daryl wanted to argue against it, but before he could they were making their way out the door of the shop, where Maggie, Glen's girlfriend was already waiting. As soon as Glen locked the doors, she hugged him passionately and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Hey hot stuff", Maggie winked and Glen laughed as he kissed her on the cheek, "you ready to go eat?"

"Yeah I am", Glen looked over at Daryl, "Uh Maggie, this is Daryl, he just started working for Dale today… you mind if he comes and hangs out with us?"

Maggie smiled at Daryl and extended her hand out to shake his, "Nice to meet you Daryl". Daryl awkwardly shook Maggie's hand and nodded, and she looked back over at Glen with a smile, "I don' mind. Beth is comin' with us too… Jimmy apparently bailed on her _again_, and she isn't in the greatest of moods this afternoon", Maggie rolled her eyes.

"Really, it's alright, I'm not all that hungry anyway", Daryl lied.

"Nonsense", Maggie said with a smile and grabbed Daryl's arm leading him over to the car, "Come on' I insist"

Daryl raised an eyebrow, this girl was a little too touchy for his liking; but he brushed it off and got in the car anyway, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice.

As he and Glen piled into the small backseat of the truck, Daryl caught a glimpse of the blonde's pouting face in the front seat. She had wavy blonde hair and milk white skin. She didn't even notice that more than one person had entered the car; she was too busy crossing her arms and staring out ahead.

"Beth this is Daryl, Daryl this is Beth" Maggie said as she jumped in the driver seat and slammed the creaky door shut.

Beth barely looked back and just muttered "Hi" in a slightly annoyed and depressing tone.

Daryl raised an eyebrow and muttered back in return, "Nice to meet you"

"Mhmm" Beth mumbled still looking ahead.

Daryl turned to Glen as they drove past the diner parking lot, "I'm gonna have to come back this way after… my bike is in the lot over there"

"Oh don't worry, we'll give you a ride back over there" Glen assured and Daryl nodded.

Suddenly Beth raised the volume on the radio, it was obvious that she wasn't in the best of moods, just as her sister mentioned.

Daryl just watched out the window as they drove down the streets towards their destination. He wasn't exactly comfortable hanging out with people he didn't really know, and not to mention the fact that he had illegally crashed in the sisters' barn the night before. But he was already in the car with them, and he pretty much had no choice but to make the best of it at that point. It wasn't like he had to become best friends with these people or anything… _a quick meal wasn't going to hurt_...


	4. Try'na Erase The Past?

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or it's characters, just my story line :)**

* * *

"So Daryl, I've never see you around town before," Maggie said with a full mouth of fries, "you jus' move here?"

Daryl cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah. Bout' a week or so ago"

Maggie nodded, "That's cool. Senoia is a nice small town. People pretty much know everyone's business; but other than that, it's got its perks"

"Yeah okay" Beth spoke up suddenly and sarcastically, and everyone's eyes turned towards her. She hadn't said anything, besides her order, since they arrived and pretty much sat in her chair, swirling the straw in her cup around the entire time.

Maggie rolled her eyes and pouted her lips, "oh please Beth, jus' because you and Jimmy are havin' issues don't mean that Senoia is the town from hell all of a sudden". Beth sneered and rolled her eyes right back at her sister and Maggie crossed her arms, "What the hell happened anyway? I know you said he bailed on your plans, but is that really a surprise Beth?"

"Whatever Maggie, I don't wanna' talk about it" Beth said and shook her head out of aggravation.

"Yeah, well what you need ta' do is kick that loser to the curb already. He don' do nothin' but treat you like horse shit anyhow" Maggie said before taking a sip of her soda.

"Jus' drop it alright!" Beth spat out, and Glen's face suddenly became worrisome for a second. He hated confrontation, even if it didn't involve him.

Things became quiet for a while, Daryl found himself repeatedly glancing over at the blonde a couple times. Off of a first impression, he would have assumed she was some prissy little daddy's girl that got everything and anything she ever wanted. He figured that could still possibly be the case; however, she definitely had some aggressiveness as well. Which was either due to her really being pissed about this Jimmy guy, or she was just a _bitch_. Either way, he had to admit, the girl was _pretty_ hot. Definitely a lot more clean cut than the girls from his town, but in a good way. More like _a natural, small-town, all American, girl next door_ kind of hot.

He thought Maggie was hot too; but, there was always something about blondes that turned him on. He discovered that when he was with Carol, that is before she stopped dying her hair and decided to go scissor happy and cut it all off. Maybe it was due to the whole 'blondes have more fun' theory, either way it was definitely a preference of his.

However, he didn't let himself become distracted with infatuation. He quickly refocused himself and continued devouring the plate of food in front of him. Even if he had to sacrifice an hour of meaningless conversation with people he hardly knew, the food was the best he'd eaten in weeks, and it was _damn_ worth it.

"So Daryl, you gonna' come down to the pier with us afterwards?" Maggie asked as she wiped her mouth with a napkin and threw it on top of her empty plate.

"The pier?" Daryl repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, there's a firework thing going on" Glen interfered, "kind of like, a kick off to the summer celebration, they do it every year here"

Daryl shrugged, "I should probably get back to my bike… don't wanna' leave it in that lot for too long and risk it gettin' towed"

Maggie let out a gaudy laugh, "Towed? Oh boy you've gotta' lot to learn about this town". Daryl looked confused, and Maggie continued, "this ain't some big city… your bike could be in that lot for days and not a single person would care"

"It's true" Glen assured, "Come with us, trust me, your motorcycle will be right where you left it once we drop you off"

Daryl knew it would be a losing battle if he even attempted to argue against them, he already got the hint that they were pretty stubborn. And really, where did he have to go anyhow?

He gave a quick nod and peeled off the last piece of meat from the rib with his teeth, and licked his fingers from the remaining barbeque sauce.

"You'll like it, it's fun", Maggie said with a smile, "and maybe this one over here…" she nodded towards Beth with a smirk, "…maybe it'll get her damn mood up"

Daryl smiled a little and looked over at Beth. Maggie's instigating was actually kind of funny to him.

Beth pursed her lips and once again rolled her eyes at her sister. She briefly made eye contact with Daryl; but, quickly looked away. The girl did need to lighten up a bit. Daryl had no idea what kind of problems she was having with her boyfriend; but, if it was so bad that the girl didn't even want to join in conversation with her sister than he wondered why the hell she was wasting time on the guy anyway. It obviously wasn't the first time he had upset her, hence the reason she was so mad. He never understood relationships like that. If you weren't happy than get out of it… that was his theory. He'd seen enough growing up, to know that when a relationship isn't working out, it more than likely never will. But, it wasn't his business or his problem.

"Aright well, we better get outta' here if we wanna' catch the fireworks on time", Maggie said as she stood up from the table, "You guys ready?"

"Ready as ever babe" Glen said as he also stood up from his chair and Maggie flirtatiously smiled at him and the two grabbed hands and made their way towards the exit.

Daryl and Beth both followed, neither of them very excited.

* * *

The drive over to the pier wasn't very long; but the weird silence in the car felt as if it lasted forever. Glen ended up riding in the passenger seat, alongside of Maggie; the two of them hand and hand the whole way, and Beth sat in the tight back seat next to Daryl. She didn't say much, and basically looked out the window the entire time. Daryl did the same as well; although it was a bit hard to see anything out of it. The sky had darkened and the roads were lined with trees, so there wasn't much of a sight really.

The truck was starting to slow down a bit, and the lights circling the wide lake revealed a pretty packed out parking lot. There was a decent amount of people at the event, and Daryl assumed that it was obviously a major celebration for the small town.

Once Maggie pulled into an open parking space, the four of them got out of the truck and made their way towards a couple of rocks down near the lake. They seemed to luck out because mostly everywhere else was crowded with people waiting for the fireworks display.

Glen and Maggie sat next to each other on the rock; Maggie leaning in and resting her head against Glen's shoulder. Beth took a seat on the rock next to them, and Daryl just sat down in the grass beside her.

He was starting to wonder why he even agreed to come with them at all. Everywhere he looked, there were either children with their parents, or couples cuddling together and holding hands. It really didn't seem like it was something you came to alone at all. Even if he was with a couple of people, two of them were ready to screw each other on the rock, and the other one was mad at the world _and apparently mute_ as well… he definitely felt out of place.

One thing that was really getting to him though, was how much he missed Sophia. Seeing fathers holding their children up on their shoulders and laughing was making him really wish his little girl was there with him, doing the same thing. She would have loved to see fireworks- _real fireworks that is_. She'd never really had the chance to see something like that before, besides a couple fourth of July parties; but the people setting them off were usually so drunk that he would never allow her to get anywhere near them or up close, just in case one of the idiots stupidly shot one in her direction by mistake.

He couldn't wait till he was able to finally get situated though; so she could come and visit him, and he could take her to something like this. He knew she'd be ecstatic once she could finally start coming here, every other week or so, and spend time with him. He could barely wait either… but who knew when he was going to be able to make that possible. It could take weeks, or even months before he'd be able to get into a place of his own.

The fireworks started going off, and Daryl tried to shake the thoughts of Sophia out of his mind. It was the only thing he could do to prevent himself from becoming depressed over it. He just watched as the many different colored lights displayed across the sky. They were actually pretty impressive. There were different patterns set off, causing all different objects to light up in a variety of pictures and displays.

For a while he had just watched them, letting his mind completely go and allowing himself to rid his own issues and problems temporarily. It wasn't something he did very often, so it was a nice feeling to just let it all go for once, even if it wouldn't last long.

Suddenly Beth moved from the rock and took a seat directly next to Daryl on the grass. She pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Daryl looked over at her, a little bewildered, for a second, and as soon as she noticed she chuckled a little bit.

"Sorry", she said with a small smile, "those two are makin' out all over that rock, and I'm kind of getting' sick of Maggie kickin' my leg and bumping into me every two seconds"

Daryl stretched his neck out a little to get a glance at Glen and Maggie. Maggie was twisted around, with her legs extended in the opposite direction. The two of them were locking lips so intensely, that it was almost hard to believe they were able to even breathe.

He leaned back and looked at Beth with a small smile and laughed a little, "You're right".

Beth smirked, "told ya".

Daryl was surprised the girl even smiled in the first place, especially after an entire two hours of saying pretty much nothing and walking around with a sulk on her face all night.

"They always like this?" Daryl asked Beth, and she looked back at her sister and Glen.

"Maggie and Glen?" she said jokingly, "oh this is nothin'… actually it's rather PG-13 compared to their normal behavior". Daryl raised his eyebrows in shock, and let out a small chuckle. Beth smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "good for them though", her face suddenly saddened, "at least someone is happy".

Daryl looked at her for a few minutes. He didn't understand why the girl was so down in the dumps over a guy, she obviously was a total smokeshow, and not to mention she had a pretty impressive smile. Why'd she even let something so petty bother her? But again, it wasn't any of his business, so he wasn't going to ask.

"What's your story huh?", Beth broke the silence and rested her head on her knees as she looked over at Daryl for his reaction, "I ain't the only one who's been quiet all night long"

Daryl studied her face briefly before attempting to answer the question; she was obviously quite observant.

"No story," he said, his stare still towards her, "jus' tryna' start fresh, that's all"

"Start fresh huh?" she narrowed her eyes and let a small smile creep across her lips, "no one ever tries to start fresh unless they're tryin' to erase somethin'"

Daryl's face hardened and his uneasiness completely vanished. She was right- in fact she was _dead on_, but who the hell was she to assume something about him when she didn't even know him?

"Yeah well, you don't know nothin' about me, so don't go assumin' shit you don't know"

Daryl expected the girl to get mad or defensive, but surprisingly she just stayed in the same position and let out a small and inoffensive chuckle instead.

"I wish I could jus' do that… start fresh somewhere and leave everything behind", Beth leaned back and placed her hands on the ground behind her for support, "I'm so tired of the same ol' people and the same ol' routines… I just want adventure and excitement"

Daryl watched her as she gazed up at the sky, closing her eyes as she took in her own thoughts and envisioned them in her mind. What could possibly be so bad that she longed to escape the life she was living? She was well dressed, her and her sister had a car, and of course, _he knew perfectly well_ that her family had a big old farm with a ton of land. What could possibly make this girl think that her life was so depraved?

"I can tell ya first hand that adventure and excitement ain't always what it's cracked up to be", Daryl said while kicking his foot out in front of him.

"It's gotta' be better than this" Beth mumbled, and then looked over at Daryl, who was now lighting a cigarette in his mouth. Her eyes fixated on him as he took a drag and blew the smoke out through his nose, "I can tell ya now that you ain't gonna' last here", she said, still watching him knowledgeably handle his cigarette.

He let the cigarette rest in-between his lips and gave Beth a side stare, "Oh yeah? And what makes you think that?"

"Cause' I can tell you're not like people here… you know what it's like to not have to live vicariously through someone else's expectations"

Daryl face stiffened, and he viciously spat back, "I told ya, you don't know shit about me"

Beth narrowed her eyes and a smirk appeared, "I bet I'm right though"

Daryl rolled his eyes and looked away, _who did this girl think she was? Mrs. Cleo_?

"So you have a fight with your boyfriend or somethin' and you hate your life?" Daryl inwardly chuckled, "you got a lot to learn girl"

"That ain't it", Beth rolled her eyes, "jus' tired of everything, like I said"

"Right" Daryl said sarcastically.

"Hey at least I can admit it," she continued with the sarcasm, "and I'm not pretending my life is peachy"

Daryl blew the last of the remaining smoke out of his mouth, and flicked the butt of the cigarette into the lake, "Like I already told ya'… don't assume somethin' you don't know shit about"

Beth smiled; she knew she hit a nerve, and his defensiveness was only making it more apparent.

"Fine", she said while throwing her hands up, "maybe I'm assumin'… but if I'm right, which I'm pretty sure I am… you have to let me ride your motorcycle" she smiled, "just once".

Daryl raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You heard me" she laughed, "You said you had one, so if by some chance I find out that one of my assumptions about you are correct… then you have to let me drive your motorcycle"

Daryl was starting to become convinced that there was something wrong with this girl.

"That ain't never gonna' happen darlin'…" he said assertively; he had to admit that her confidence was a bit amusing, "besides… findin' out anything about me will be pretty damn hard"

"I'm not so sure about that" she said with a smirk, "you are workin' in the shop with Glen now, so I'm sure we're bound to run into each other… especially if you're planning on hangin' out with us often, I'm bound to figure out a few things"

"Who said I'm plannin' on hangin' out with any of ya' again" he said with a bold tone at first; but quickly it became apparent that he was hinting a bit of sarcasm as well, "none of ya' are _adventurous_ enough for me"

Beth laughed and cracked a small smile, "We'll see"

Daryl stared at Beth again as she looked up to watch the finale of the fireworks display. She may have been a little intrusive and slightly annoying; but a part of him wished she would have started talking a little earlier in the night. She had a sarcastic sense of humor, that was for sure, and it was something he actually liked. He couldn't stand when people made small talk and discussed stupid shit just to make things less awkward. Beth was obviously very blunt and cut to the chase about things, which he wasn't sure was a good or bad thing.

The fireworks finally ended and the people around them began heading back to their cars. Maggie and Glen finally detached themselves from one another and stood up, giving each other very noticeable and seductive looks. Daryl and Beth both stood up from the grass as well, each of them patting off their pants to wipe away any loose dirt.

"Ya'll ready to go" Maggie said, and Daryl and Beth both nodded before making their way back towards the pickup truck.

* * *

The ride back to the diner parking lot was again quiet, and despite Beth's invasiveness back at the lake, she was silent the entire drive. She smiled at Daryl a couple of times, as if she was telepathically still fucking with him about proving her assumptions correct, and he would shake his head at her and look away.

When they reached the lot and Daryl got out of the truck, he said goodnight to both Glen and Maggie and thanked them for asking him along. Beth however, made sure to say "see ya around" in a very sarcastic, yet positive tone.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the blonde and gave a quick nod without responding. This girl was definitely a weirdo, and now he was sure of it.

He walked over to his bike and the blue pick-up took off onto the dark street. He started the engine and waited for a few minutes, to let it warm up fully. He hated to admit it, but Beth had him thinking… was he really just doing all this because he wanted so badly to erase his past and run from it? And if that was the case, how the hell was she able to tell that? Was it that obvious?

He kicked the stand up, and shook his head to rid the thoughts before taking off on the bike. Now wasn't the time to start thinking about all that again… now was the time to find another place to crash for the night, again. And with that he disappeared into the dark, of the empty and quiet Senoia streets.

* * *

_**So, what did you guys think? Please let me know! And again, I appreciate all the reviews, follows and favorites! Can't believe how many people are interested in this story, it's baffling!**_

_**Next chapter will have some back story of what happened to Daryl prior to his leaving his hometown, so what are your theories on that? What do you think happened? **_


	5. Let It Burn

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead - just my story line :)**_

* * *

_"Boy, what'd I say 'bout parkin' your piece of shit bike in my garage", the nightmarish and slurred voice echoed down the halls and towards the small outdated living room. _

_Daryl was stretched out along a yellow worn down couch, filled with stains and cigarette burns all over it. He'd been watching some local channel for the past few hours. They didn't have cable, so it was the only thing worth watching on such a small selection. As his fathers' voice resonated through him, he rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. It was always the same routine. He'd come home after a long day of blowing his disability check on liquor and booze, and come home to strike at his only target- his son. _

_Daryl had become accustomed to his behavior though, and there was nothing the man could do anymore to surprise him. Some nights weren't as bad, and some nights were down right horrible; but this was his life, his fate, the only thing he knew._

_"It's gonna' rain, I jus' parked it in the corner" Daryl yelled out; but there was no response, just the loud cracking open of a fresh can of beer from the kitchen. _

_Daryl knew it wasn't over though… nothing was over that easily when it came to his father. He turned off the TV with the remote and threw it onto the couch, and began making his way down the hall towards his room; hoping he could escape his fathers' view before he found something else to nit-pick about._

_As Daryl slipped past the small kitchen doorway, his father caught sight of him and yelled out "Where ya' think your goin' boy? I ain't finished with ya'!"_

_Daryl gritted his teeth and continued till he reached his bedroom door. There was a very visible dent in the wooden frame, obviously from a previous altercation of some sort. _

_"I'm goin' to bed" Daryl shouted out as he entered his bedroom; but before he could close the door, his fathers' hand was already holding it opened._

_"You think you're gonna' jus' run in your room and not say a word boy!?", his father pushed open the door, and Daryl stepped back as the older, scraggy man swayed back and forth in front of him. His eyes were glassy, and the smell of alcohol on his breath filled the entire room, "I said, why's that piece of junk sittin' in my fuckin' garage boy?!" he yelled deviously and Daryl tilted his head back in frustration, mentally scolding himself for even parking the bike there in the first place, and giving his asshole father something to bitch about._

_"I'll move it, alright?" Daryl said with an aggravated tone, as he tried to cross past his father; but before he could maneuver around him, his fathers' heavy palm shoved his shoulder back, causing Daryl to stumble backwards a little._

_"Too late boy" he said and then pushed him again, with a malicious grin, "you ain't gettin' away with it that easy"_

_"Dad, I said I'll move it alright… jus' let it go" Daryl reinstated as he again, tried to move around him; but, instead, his father swung his hand back and punched Daryl in the right eye, immediately causing him to drop his face into his hands. He'd always just let the man do whatever he wanted to him, and let him beat him till he felt satisfied enough to leave him alone; but, this time was different. Daryl's hatred for his father had been burning for years, building up and building up, and it was only a matter of time before he was going to explode. "Get the fuck away from me!" Daryl shouted as he shoved his father towards the bedroom door, trying his best not to go crazy on the old man._

_His fathers' face furrowed with anger, and his eyes beamed towards Daryl. It was like he didn't even know that it was his own son standing in front of him, like he was some stranger in a bar and he was ready to beat the guy down. Daryl never understood how a father could look into the eyes of his kid and treat them the way he did. He couldn't even imagine doing those things to Sophia, he'd kill himself before ever hurting her._

_"Oh, so now ya' think you're some kind of tough guy huh?" his father chortled, before striking him in the ribs with another punch. Daryl buckled forward and clenched his arms to his ribs. The pain ripped through him; but before he could react, another sharp blow clouted him on the side of the head. "Don't you ever…" his father shouted as Daryl fell to the hard wooden floor of his bedroom, "…ever…" he kicked his hard metal-toed boot into Daryl's shoulder blade, "…raise your fuckin' hands to me boy!", he kicked him one last time in the side, before pausing to watch Daryl clench his body on the floor. _

_Daryl just laid on the floor waiting… waiting for another hit, kick or punch to come. He didn't doubt for a second that he could possibly get up and knock his father to the ground; however, the aftermath would be even worse if he did. So, despite his anger, he did as he always done, and let him finish whatever it was that he was going to do._

_"What now boy? You jus' gonna' lay there like a little bitch?" he kicked him one more time in the arm, "aren't too tough now, are ya?" Daryl just laid silently; he felt his body shaking as he tried to hold himself back. "Fuckin' pussy", his father hissed as he spit at him, "that's all you are"._

_When Daryl continued to stay still, never answering him back, his father finally walked out of the room laughing treacherously. Daryl waited a few minutes, until he knew for sure that his father was out of the room, and then picked himself up into a sitting position, resting his back against his bedframe. His eye was bloody, and his head and body was pounding from the hits. He clenched his hands and closed his eyes for a few minutes; it was taking everything out of him not to go after the guy and beat the living shit out of him… not to kill him._

_Daryl sat there, in the same position, for a while trying to calm himself down. The only reason he put up with it all was because if he didn't, he'd have nowhere to go. The only family he had left besides Sophia was Merle, his only brother; however, he wasn't even sure if the guy was alive anymore at all. He was hauled off to jail when Daryl was only twelve years old. At first it was for minor offenses, like gang activity, and drug deals, and being that he was under eighteen, he was usually charged with minor sentences in juvenile detention. Every time he was released, he would be home for long enough to promise Daryl he'd get him away from their Dad, before he'd be hauled off again for something else. Finally, the last time Merle ever came back home, he just turned eighteen and was home for about two months. Daryl was fifteen at the time, and Merle would defend him whenever their father came home drunk looking for someone to beat on. Those two months were one of the only times when Daryl felt safe, and protected; besides when his mother was still alive; but she died when he was seven, so it had been an extremely long time since then. During those two months, Merle told Daryl that he wouldn't have to worry, and that he'd been working a deal with a couple people who would get him the money for the two of them to take off somewhere. Daryl had no idea what kind of deal he meant or what it entailed, all he knew was that he trusted his big brother, and he believed him. However, those hopes were quickly diminished the day the county police showed up at the door, with a warrant for Merles arrest. Apparently he'd been involved in a major drug and prostitution ring, and his middle man ratted him out to the police- to save himself. _

_Daryl could still feel the pain and the anger in his stomach; the day they hand cuffed Merle and took him away in the police car. He was so sure that Merle was going to follow through that time, and he would get him out of that house. He remembers punching what felt like a hundred holes in his bedroom walls afterwards, to cure the pain. _

_The next day Daryl went down to the court house to find out about his brother's whereabouts and what kind of charges he was facing. He waited in the court room for hours until they finally called Merle to the stand and his sentencing proceeded. The judge charged him with all kinds of things, ultimately leading to a six year prison sentence in the state penitentiary. Daryl couldn't believe the things Merle was being charged with, and as Merle was escorted into the back door of the courthouse by two officers, it was the last time he and his brother made eye-contact. Merle looked ashamed and gave Daryl a small nod, before disappearing out of the door; but Daryl just glared at him, with his eyes ice cold. He let him down again, and as he'd always done, he left Daryl alone. _

_When Daryl was twenty one, he anxiously awaited his brothers' return. It had been six years and it gave him enough time to let his anger against Merle go; however, Merle never showed up. Daryl constantly waited for him to knock on the door; but once a year past Merles' release date had come and gone, Daryl gave up thinking that his brother would ever come back. He obviously didn't care to come back for his brother, and it was quite clear that Merle wasn't the guy he'd thought he was. _

_By that that time Daryl was ready to take off, and find somewhere he could escape to as well; but his plans were quickly uprooted when he found out he was going to have a child. A one night fling, after a hard night of drinking, turned into a lifetime of commitment for Daryl. He thought about taking off before the kid was born; but he figured he'd be just as bad as his own father if he did that to his child, so he made the decision to stay and deal with all the chaos going on. _

_When Sophia was born, he and Carol, Sophia's Mom, tried to be together for their daughters' sake; but it quickly became apparent that they were not meant to be together. Daryl couldn't stand her neediness and clingy ways, and Carol couldn't stand that he kept everything he was feeling inside. Things ended romantically between them, but they vowed to raise their daughter as friends, despite their differences. _

_Daryl had continued to work for his uncle in a local car shop for a while; but when his uncle suddenly died from a fatal heart attack, he was left with no job, no money, and an uncertain future. He had dropped out of high school at just sixteen years old, to avoid constant questioning about the all the fresh and reoccurring bruising on his body, and although he did work hard and receive his GED, it was difficult to get a good paying job anywhere without a college degree._

_He had no choice but to work quick end jobs making little or no money, which in return he would just give to Carol for Sophia, and stick it out at his fathers' house, despite the abuse and chaos. Carol knew what he was going through also, but she was in no position to offer Daryl a place to stay either. She and Sophia were cramped into her family's house with barely any room for themselves. _

_For the past three and a half years, Daryl just stuck it out. Dealing with everything, just so he could be close to his daughter; but something inside him was starting to feel like it was going to crash and burn. He could only take so much before he was going to lose it._

_Daryl finally opened his eyes, after recollecting the past years in his mind. His body had finally calmed, and besides his father going back and forth into the kitchen a couple of times, he hadn't heard him making any sounds in the recent minutes. _

_Daryl wiped his hand across a line of blood dripping down his cheek, and as he stared at it on his hand, he decided that he finally had enough of it all. He had to get out of there; he had to escape the house of hell he was living in. _

_He slid a green duffle bag out from underneath his bed and started stuffing clothing and a couple of other things inside it. He scrounged under his mattress and pulled out a measly hundred dollars he had and through his leather jacket on. As he approached the hallway very quietly, he could smell something burning in the kitchen. He crept past the living room, where his father was passed out on the couch; one shoe on and one shoe off, and a can of beer resting on the floor beside him. _

_The smell was even stronger, and when he reached the kitchen there was a pot of noodles boiling on the stove, and a dish towel resting next to it was on fire. He was about to try and put it out, cursing his father's name for leaving a towel near an open flame, when he caught sight of his fathers' wallet resting on the table. He paused and stared at it; the fire starting to evolve even more on the counter. Daryl closed his eyes momentarily and as all the anger and frustration rushed back into his mind, he finally made his decision. A decision that was a long time coming. _

_He ran towards the table and flipped open the wallet, pulling out three hundred and forty dollars from the sleeve. He quickly placed it in his jean pocket, walked back towards the living room and stared at his father one last time. _

_Surprisingly, he felt no remorse. How could he? The man had beaten him so badly over the years that he could have died from all the abuse, and yet till this day, he didn't care about anyone but himself. _

_Daryl glanced over at the kitchen doorway, where a ton of smoke was now entering into the living room. A hundred thoughts crept through his mind as he processed his next steps, but after one last mental debate, he shook his head, and walked out the door, closing it shut behind him. _

_He made his way to the garage, quickly started his bike, and took off until he reached the bottom of his block. He stopped the motorcycle and stood there watching as the house went up in flames. He had no idea what he was feeling, and it seemed that with every flame he watched, another emotion took over his body. He felt relieved that the person who tortured him his entire life was gone, but he also felt guilt in knowing what was going to happen and not stopping it. _

_It was an outer body experience, and the mental weight of it would surly end up affecting him later on; but at that moment, he was numb. Numb to anything and everything. _

_When the house was completely engulfed in flames, Daryl knew his father was dead. He knew there was no chance the man had survived, and as soon as he heard the sirens blaring in the distance, he quickly restarted his bike and took off… never once looking back._

* * *

Daryl jumped up from the wooden bench, his heart racing as he rubbed his eyes and processed where he was. Police sirens blared around the bend of the park, one by one, until they finally disappeared into the darkness of the streets. He was in the park, on the bench, just as he had been when he finally fell asleep earlier that night. His heart started to slow down when he finally realized his surroundings. Every time he heard sirens, the memories would flood back, and being woken up by them was _definitely_ something that could cause him to have heart failure.

He sat up and let a yawn escape his mouth as he glanced down at his watch to check the time. It was 5:30am, and even though he felt physically worn out, he knew there was no way he would fall back asleep after that alarming awakening. He didn't have enough money to waste on another meal at the diner, even if they were cheap, and it was way too early to show up at the shop.

He thought about what he could do to pass the time, and the only thing he could think of was riding around on his bike, until it was time for work. It was the only thing that would keep him awake and alert enough for the next three and a half hours, so it seemed like his only option. So, with that, he headed over to his bike, started it up, and took off, aimlessly.

* * *

It was finally almost nine o'clock and Daryl felt like it had been hours. After driving around in circles countless amounts of times, he ended up parking the bike in the diner parking lot, and walking to the shop, where he took a seat, leaned up against the garage door, and decided to wait out the last hour until Glen showed up to open.

Suddenly he saw Maggie and Beths' blue pickup truck pull up onto the street in front of him. He hadn't seen them since the night they went out a couple days ago; but he was praying that Beth wasn't in the car, just so her predictions about 'running into each other often' wouldn't be correct. However, sure enough, as Glen and Maggie jumped out of the car, the back door opened up as well, revealing the blonde jumping out on to the curb with a matter of factually smile. Daryl rolled his eyes as soon as he seen her smug face.

"Hey Daryl, you been waiting long?" Glen asked as he approached Daryl.

"Nah, jus' a little while"

"Oh", Glen was starting to notice that Daryl was showing up really early at the shop every morning, and usually in the same outfit as the day before, "Maggie and Beth are going to hang out in the shop for a little while, they have class in an hour"

Daryl nodded, actually uninterested with what they were doing.

Glen unlocked the door and Daryl, Maggie and Beth entered the shop behind him. Daryl quickly went into the bathroom to change into his uniform and when he returned, Maggie and Glen were making out in the corner of the garage and Beth was looking at Daryl with her eyebrows raised.

"Nice uniform" Beth said sarcastically, as she let out a laugh.

Daryl rolled his eyes and walked over towards the tool bucket, pulling out a couple of things for the day, "Wasn't my choice, but make fun all you want"

"No, uh, it's…" Beth chuckled again, "okay it's hideous"

"Well thanks for pointin' that out there" Daryl said, his tone a little irritated.

"Oh lighten up" Beth said as she crossed her arms, "I'm jus' messin' with ya"

Daryl leaned up against the red Cadillac and glanced over at Maggie and Glen, who were still locking lips, "God, do those two ever give it a rest?"

Beth laughed, "Nope. I guess I'm jus' used to it, so I don't even pay attention anymore"

Daryl shook his head and looked away almost disgusted.

"So when are you gonna let me ride that bike of yours?" Beth asked innocently, with a smirk on her face.

"I'm not" Daryl said, his eyebrow raised.

"Oh come on" Beth crossed her arms, "I told you we'd run into eachother again, and I was right… so you owe me your part of the bet"

"I don' owe you shit sweetheart, you said if you found out one of your assumptions about me were right, than I'd have to let you ride my bike"

"Whatever" she said, her face pouting, "Come on, just one ride"

Daryl looked at girl with a confused stare. What the hell was so exciting to her?

"Fine" Daryl said in an annoyed tone, and Beths' face lit up, "but one condition… I drive, you can sit on back"

Beth thought about it for a minute, it probably was a good idea that Daryl drive the bike, being that she'd never rode on a motorcycle before.

"Okay. It's a deal" she held out her hand for a shake, but Daryl looked at her hand and raised his eyebrows, before laughing.

"You're a fuckin' weirdo, ya know that?"

Beth pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes, "So what time tonight?"

"Tonight? You want to do this tonight?" Daryl sighed.

"Yeah, I don't wanna' give you enough time to change your mind"

"Fine" Daryl said, "Meet me at the diner parking lot at seven"

"Seven it is" Beth said with a smile and Daryl rolled her eyes at the annoying blonde.

He glanced down at his watch and when he realized it was ten after nine, he cleared his throat loud enough to get Glens' attention.

Glen released his lips from Maggies' and Daryl pointed to his watch.

"Oh crap" Glen said as he ran to unlock the chains and open the garage door.

Daryl shook his head, partially at Glen, and partially at what he was getting himself into later on that night. He knew he'd regret saying yes to the blonde at some point.

* * *

_**So I know that was long, but please let me know your thoughts on Daryls' back story and also about what's going to happen when Daryl takes Beth out on the motorcycle!?**_

_**I hope you enjoyed!**_


	6. Do You Think I'm Attractive?

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead, just my story line :)**

* * *

Beth flipped the doors of her closet wide open. There weren't many choices; but she definitely felt that she needed to look the part at least a little bit. She scanned the shirts and after a few minutes of deliberation, she pulled out the only leather jacket she owned. It was a little stiff from the lack of use, but nonetheless, it'd be perfect.

She threw it onto her bed and then grabbed a freshly cleaned pair of blue jeans from the shelf. She quickly slipped her sweatpants off and shimmied the jeans up her legs. They were very forming, and she found herself jumping up and down a few times to secure the tight waist around her hips and button them. She slid her t-shirt off and grabbed a tight-fitting red tank top from her drawer, which she proceeded to slip on over her head. She then kneeled down and slipped a pair of black knee length leather riding boots out from under her bed. She usually used them when she was out tending the horses and stuff; but it was the only pair of shoes that would match her jacket, so she figured they'd do.

She grabbed the leather jacket and kneaded it out a few times on the bed, to try and loosen it up a bit. Once it was as flat as it was going to get, she slipped it on and stared at herself in the mirror for a few seconds, examining the outfit, and turning to get a view of her backside as well. She wasn't the type to brag; but she had to admit that she looked pretty good – _not that she was trying to look good or anything_.

Beth was startled and swung around quickly when Maggie walked into her bedroom. She froze for a few seconds, biting her lip as her sisters' eyes scanned her up and down, and small smile crept across her lips.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… hot mama" Maggie joked, and Beth rolled her eyes and smiled, "where are you goin' lookin' like that?"

"Nowhere, jus' meetin' a friend" Beth lied, she wasn't sure she wanted to tell Maggie her whereabouts.

"Oh really?" Maggie smirked, "this friend wouldn't happen to be Daryl, would it?"

Beth's eyes widened, "How did you know that?" she asked, her face furrowing.

"Glen told me", she laughed and then waved her hands, as if Beth should have already known.

"Oh", Beth said a little confused, "I'm surprised Daryl even told him"

"Why?" Maggie plopped down onto Beth's bed, "it's not some kinda' secret date or somethin' is it?" Maggie laughed and Beth became defensive.

"No, it's not" she stated with a demanding tone, "it's not a date at all, we're jus' friends"

Maggie couldn't help but giggle at Beth's defensiveness, "Yeah, says the girl who's wearing clothes tight enough to constrict her airways"

"I'm jus' tryna' look the part", Beth self-consciously examined herself in the mirror again, "does it really look that bad?"

Maggie smiled, "No, you look great Beth… really you look hot"

Beth rolled her eyes and laughed at her sister, "Now I just need to figure out something to do with this hair", she pouted as she held her two braided pigtails up mockingly.

"Come here" Maggie said, and she leaned across the bed, pulling Beth to sit on the floor in front of her.

Maggie started unbraiding the pigtails, and gently tasseling them with her fingers, causing Beths' blonde hair to flow freely, with loose crimpy curls. She then pulled a bobby pin out of her own hair and twisted the front of Beth's bangs back, sliding the bobby pin in it to hold it in its place.

"There ya' go" she said, and Beth stood back up to look at herself in the mirror.

"Thanks" she said smiling, as she looked at herself.

"So, what made you ask Daryl to take you out on his bike?" Maggie asked.

"I don't know" Beth said in-between putting lip gloss on, "I never been on one before… it sounds like fun"

"Yeah, well be careful alright", Maggie said as she got up from the bed, "they can be dangerous if you don't know what your doin'"

"I know", Beth smiled at her sister, "I will"

Maggie gave her another smile before walking out the room, and Beth glanced down at her cellphone to check the time. It was 6:15 already, and she knew she needed to get ready to leave soon. She took one last look at herself in the mirror, and a smile appeared on her face. She couldn't explain the feeling, but something about tonight was extremely exciting for her. Maybe it was just the thought of doing something new; maybe it was the rush of doing something so daring. She didn't know exactly; but there was one thing she did know… she _couldn't wait_.

**XXxxxx**

* * *

Daryl pulled to a stop in the diner parking lot. It was only 6:45; but he decided to get there a little earlier and have a smoke in peace before the irritating and assumption-making blonde got there. He had no idea why he gave in so easily and agreed to do this; but he had a feeling that if he didn't, she would have just annoyed him till the worlds' end until he did, so he minds well get it over with. It was inevitable that he was going to run into her frequently, due to his job working with Glen, so why have to listen to her nag him for any longer than he had too?

He swung his leg over and stood up from the bike, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulling out a cigarette. He lit it and then leaned up against the wall, with one leg bent and also resting on the wall behind him. He let the sun beam onto his face, as he slowly inhaled and exhaled each drag of the cigarette. Due to the early season of summer, it was light out until at least eight o'clock but the sun started letting off a glazy mixture of purple and orange colors around seven, and the view was calming for Daryl.

As he finished up his cigarette, he heard the diner door open and he looked over out the corner of his eye to find Lori, the waitress he'd gotten to know, making her way down the steps for an anticipated smoke as well.

"Well, well" Lori said with a smile, "look who jus' can't get enough of this place". Daryl cracked a small smile and gave her a welcoming nod. "What'ya doin'?", she exhaled her first drag, "comin' in to get somethin' to eat?"

"Nah… jus' waitin' for someone. Should be here soon"

"Oh okay" she leaned up against the wall next to him, "so how's the job goin'?"

"It's good. A little slower than I'm used to, but I ain't complainin'"

"Yeah, it's a little slow movin' here, but you get used to it", she smiled, "nothin' like it"

"I think I like the slow pace… it's a nice change"

Lori nodded, and all of a sudden a young teenager with shaggy brown hair came walking into the lot and towards Lori and Daryl. Daryls' eyes narrowed as he watched the boy come towards them, he looked very familiar; but couldn't point out where he'd seen him before.

"Hey baby" Lori said as she extended an arm around the teenager and kissed him on the side of the head, "I thought you weren't comin'?"

"I wasn't gonna' at first, but Dad got home early and is doin' some school project with Judith, so he asked if I could come meet you to walk home with ya"

"Oh well thank you baby, I get off in about ten minutes. Jus' gotta' go in and clock out", she smiled and then looked over at Daryl who was standing there quietly, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Daryl this is my son, Carl. Carl this is Daryl"

"Hi" Carl nodded, and Daryl returned the gesture, now realizing where he knew the kid from. He was one of the teenagers hanging out drinking in the park a couple nights back, when he had to sleep in Maggie and Beth's barn.

"Alright, well I'll see ya around Daryl. I'm gonna' go clock out so I can call it a night" she said as she and Carl walked towards the steps.

"Goodnight" he said, laughing to himself. He was pretty sure Lori had no idea what kind of stuff his son was in to. Parents can be so blind.

The two disappeared into the diner and Daryl checked his watch for the time. It was already a few minutes past seven and Beth still wasn't anywhere in sight. He had to admit, he wouldn't be too mad if the girl never showed up and it would probably be better for him anyway. However, he decided he'd wait a few more minutes but if she didn't show by seven fifteen, he was taking off, for sure.

As he lit another cigarette and let his head fall back onto the wall again, there was nothing but sky in his view. He spent those couple of minutes wondering what Sophia was doing, and really thinking that he needed to get a cell phone once he received his first check, so he could at least call her.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted when the sound of the old pick up trucks' puttering motor made a turn into the lot. He could see Beth in the drivers' seat, and it actually looked kind of funny seeing the petite girl behind the wheel of such a masculine automobile.

She pulled into the space next to his bike, and shut the engine off. Daryl could see her loose waves resting on her shoulders as she unbuckled her seatbelt and attempted to jump out of the truck.

Once fully out of the truck, Daryl raised an eyebrow at Beth's outfit and he couldn't help but smirk. She was smoking hot, of course, with her jeans accentuating every curve of her lower body and the leather jacket, which gave her look more of a rebels' look. He was trying hard not to stare at her; but as she reached into the backseat to grab her satchel, he couldn't help himself from staring at her backside. He was a man, and that's what happens when a woman decides to flaunt her every asset with body hugging clothing.

Beth slammed the door shut and walked over to Daryl, who still had a sarcastic smirk on his face, "What?" she asked, rolling her eyes because she already knew he was going to make fun of her or something like that.

"Nice outfit" he said with a sarcastic chuckle, "and a leather jacket too huh? You must really want to fit the part girl"

"Oh shut up" she nudged him, "and keep your comments to yourself"

"Comin' from the girl who does exactly that?" he joked, "you should take your own advice darlin'"

"Are you always so sarcastic?" Beth shook her head and smirked, "a simple hello woulda' been jus' fine ya know"

"Hi", he joked, "are ya lookin' for Danny Zuko?"

Beth couldn't help but laugh as she nudged him again, "Shut up!"

Daryl was laughing pretty hard and after he was able to calm himself, he tried to give Beth a serious look, "Alright, alright", still laughing a little bit, "I'll stop… for now"

Beth laughed and shook her head, "You're such a jerk. Come' on, let's go"

Daryl finally stopped his humorous jabs and lead Beth over to the bike, "So, where are we goin'?"

"I don't know", she said as she maneuvered herself onto the bike behind him, "wherever"

Daryl nodded, and turned the motorcycle on, revving it to life. Beth was just sitting on the back seat, one leg on each side and her hands searching for something to hold on to, "Um, are there handles or something?"

Daryl laughed, "Wow, you really are clueless". He swung his hands behind him and grabbed Beth's, pulling them around each side of him, and closing them together on the front of his stomach.

Beths' face tensed for a second as pulling her hands around his waist caused her body to press up against Daryls' back. It wasn't anything crazy; however, she'd only ever been that close to one guy, Jimmy, so it was really weird, yet exciting at the same time.

However, those thoughts quickly faded when she realized that the only thing that would be securing her to the bike was her grip around Daryl. Was she really supposed to just hug him the entire time and pray she doesn't let go by mistake? She shuttered at the thought and an increasing wave of nervousness began to flow through her stomach.

"You ready?" Daryl asked as he flipped his sunglasses over his eyes, and kicked the stand up from the bike.

"Uh, wait…" Beth said nervously, "can you go easy on me? I'm gettin' a bit nervous now"

Daryl laughed, "you'll be fine… jus' don't let go of me, or you'll be dead", Beth bit her bottom lip and Daryl looked back over his shoulder, noticing the girl didn't find any humor in his joke, "I'm jus' jokin' darlin', you'll be fine, jus' hold on to me"

Beth nodded, and Daryl slowly made his way out the lot, pacing himself down the street, careful not to frighten the girl too much. He could feel her grip tightening around him as he increased his speed little by little.

Once Daryl finally caught up to his normal speed, he just drove the bike around for what felt like hours. Taking turns on unknown streets, going around abandoned bends, and at certain points getting on and off of some major highway. Beth hadn't said anything at all; however, her grip wasn't as intense anymore, so Daryl knew she was enjoying the ride. He couldn't lie, he was enjoying it also. There was nothing better than driving off on an unknown destination, with no planned route or direction. That was the reason he got a bike in the first place, because even though you could technically do the same thing in a car, it was nothing like the feeling he got with a bike. The wind blowing through him and the sunlight beaming, as he'd race down the open roads, it was like an addiction… a satisfying, adrenaline kicking addiction.

**XXxxx**

* * *

An hour of purposeless direction had come and gone so quickly, and as the sun was beginning to really set, he pulled onto the shoulder of an empty highway, with just a guardrail blocking it from a steep drop down into one of Georgias' biggest rivers below it.

"Why are you stoppin'?" Beth asked as Daryl slowed the bike.

"Gonna' stop for a little bit, I need ta' stretch my legs" Daryl said and the bike came to a complete stop and Beth hopped off to do the same, "and we gotta' figure out how to get back from, wherever the hell we are, before it gets to dark to see any road signs"

"I know where we are," Beth said as she smiled and walked over towards the guardrail, leaning against it, "this is the Suwannee River. My parents use to take Maggie and I here when we were little"

Daryl kicked the stand down to hold the bike in position and walked over by Beth, to get a better look at the River, "It's nice", he said as he took in the view below them.

"Yeah, it is", Beth leaned a bit more, "God, I haven't been here in years"

"Why'd your family stop comin'?" Daryl asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know," her face saddened a little, but she controlled it quickly, "my mom died when I was thirteen… guess we just stopped after that"

"Sorry to hear it" Daryl muttered, looking at Beth from the corner of his eye.

"Don't be" she said softly, closing her eyes to take the breeze on her face, "it was a long time ago now"

Daryl just nodded, and watched the girl as her eyes remained shut and her blonde locks blew back a little, in the direction of the wind.

"What about you," she said, opening her eyes and looking over a Daryl, "where's your family?"

Daryl didn't answer right away. He was unsure of how to.

"Don't have any," he mumbled, "besides my daughter"

Beth smiled at him surprised, "your daughter?" Daryl nodded, "well, that's family… how old is she?"

"She's almost four", he said softly, and Beth could sense a bit of sadness in his tone.

"Has it been a long time since you seen her?"

"Yeah, kinda'" he cleared his throat, "but soon I'll see her, once I get settled here"

Beth smiled, maybe the guy wasn't as much of a jerk as she thought, "I'm sure when you do, she'll be very happy", Daryl nodded, and looked at Beth for a split second, turning away quickly. He wasn't used to talking about Sophia with anyone. "What's her name?" Beth asked.

"Sophia"

"That's pretty" Beth smiled, and once again, Daryl just gave a quick nod. "So, what about your parents? Somethin' happen to them?"

Daryls' face tightened, "why you so nosey?"

Beths' face furrowed in confusion, "I was jus' askin'"

"Well, don't" Daryl spat, and it got silent for a few minutes.

Beth always had a knack for analyzing things, and she could tell from his defensive response that something definitely must have happened to his parents, something that he didn't like to talk about.

"You know, when my mom died, I'm pretty sure she took a piece of me with her" Beth said softly, and Daryl wondered why the girl was continuing on with the same conversation. "I wouldn't leave my room for months. People kept tryin' to cheer me up, bring me things, get me to go outside to get my mind off of it… but I was lost. I didn't want to talk to anyone, not even Maggie, not even my Dad. It was strange because even though I didn't want to talk about how I was feelin' with anyone, there was a part of me, deep down, that really needed to. I would sit in my bed every day and stare at the same four walls, replaying her memories over and over again. Tryin' to think of ways I could have done something, anything, to keep her breathin' longer. I did that to myself for so long, jus' wallowing in my own sadness… it drove me crazy"

Daryl looked over at Beth, "How'd you get over it?"

"I didn't, well, not right away at least", she began rolling the sleeves of her leather jacket up, revealing two perfectly straight scars across the center of her wrists. Daryl's face creased in confusion, and Beth continued, "I kept everything locked in for so long that it drove me over the edge. I decided I didn't wanna' live anymore, I wanted to die, to be with my Momma' again; so I went into the bathroom and I slit my wrists wide open… it's funny because as soon as I did it, I regretted it instantly. Suddenly I was petrified, I had no idea what I had jus' done. Meanwhile, I started screaming for Maggie and my Dad. Thankfully, my father is a Vet, so he knew how to at least put a few stitches in a human, at least long enough to get them to the nearest ER."

"So what happened? You jus' decided that you wanted to live at that point?" Daryl asked softly.

"Well, thankfully, I didn't cut into my wrists deep enough, so the doctors were able to stop the bleeding and stitch it completely. But yeah, pretty much. As soon as I did it and I knew that I could possibly die, I knew that wasn't what I wanted. All I really wanted was to get my anger, pain, and frustration out. I wanted to scream and yell, or jus' talk to someone, anyone, about what it was that I was feeling. I jus' didn't realize it until it was too late."

"Well, I ain't gonna kill myself because I'm not talkin' to you about my family, if that's what you think", Daryl said with a sarcastic smirk.

Beth laughed and nudged his shoulder with her hand playfully, "I'm not sayin' that, I'm jus' sayin' that sometimes it's good to let it out"

Daryl let a smile crept on to his face, as he stared back at Beth. He still thought she was annoying and extremely inquisitive; however, she wasn't too bad a person. He respected her for telling him such a personal story, and he gave her credit to be able to look back and smile about it.

"My mother died too", Daryl spoke in a soft tone, and looked at Beth through the corner of his eyes, "I was seven"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, glad that he decided to tell her something, anything, "do you mind me askin' how?"

Daryl hesitated; but eventually nodded towards Beth's scars on her wrist, "Similar to your experience"

Beth rubbed her finger across one of the scars and looked up at Daryl, "She killed herself?"

Daryl gave a quick nod, biting the inside of his lip, "Not like that though", he positioned himself to a sitting position on top of the guard rail and Beth did the same, still waiting for his response, "she overdosed on painkillers, guess she felt like she couldn't go on anymore, I don't know"

Beth's face saddened, she could tell that the conversation hurt Daryl to talk about it, "Do you know why?"

Daryl nodded as the flashbacks of his childhood flood through his mind, and he took a deep breath as the horrible memories replayed, "No, I don't know" he lied, "but I don't really wanna' talk about it anymore"

Beth could see his jaw tensing up, and even though she wanted to know more about Daryl, she decided to let it go. It was obviously hard for him to talk about.

"Thank you for takin' me out on the bike," she gave pearly white smile in efforts to sway the conversation to something less depressing, "really, I appreciate it. I've always wanted to ride one, so I'm glad I got the chance"

"What's that all about anyway?" Daryl said curiously, "the other night at the lake, you were talkin' about wantin' excitement and all kinds of stuff"

"I don't know. I guess I was upset about Jimmy, and it jus' got me thinkin' about things"

"That guy, Jimmy… he's your boyfriend or somethin'?"

"Honestly? I don't even know anymore" Beth chuckled to herself, the amusement of the whole situation made no sense to her, "he's the only guy I've ever dated really. We started dating when we were jus' kids, like fourteen years old… he's the only guy I've ever gotten comfortable around; but, honestly, I'm not even so sure I like him anymore. It sounds silly, but I think he's one of the reasons I seek excitement, because I'm so used to the same crap all the time. We fight, he apologizes, we hang out, he stands me up, and it's always the same routine. Sometimes I think I jus' continue to talk to him because he's what I'm used to… so to answer your question, than no he's not my boyfriend; but rather, the only thing I've really known"

"Wait," Daryl creased his eyes in confusion, "so you're tellin' me, you never dated any other guys besides this guy Jimmy?", Beth nodded and Daryl laughed, "and no one ever tried to take you out besides him?"

"A couple guys; but remember, it's a small town, and not only that but my Dad is a little strict when it comes to Maggie and I. He'd have to give his approval, which is kind of hard to get, so I guess I never tried"

"So I'm guessin' your Dad likes this guy then?"

Beth shrugged, "Not so much anymore. Not since he left for college and came back. Ever since then he seems to be into the wild and partyin' life. My Dad has heard things about him floating around town, and how he's been seen with other girls, from out of town"

Daryl narrowed his eyes, "So if he's with other girls, than why are you even… whatever it is you are, with him?"

"Well, we aren't together, and to be honest, I'm not really sure I care at all even. Really, I wasn't mad at him the other night when he canceled on me, actually I was kind of glad. I was madder at myself, for feelin' so trapped. For not leavin' this town and experiencin' somethin' more"

"So why haven't you?"

"I don't know. Guess I jus' did as my Dad expected me to, and I stayed local in college. I don't want to upset him, he's been through enough"

"Yeah, but you also gotta' live for you too Beth, not jus' your Dad" Daryl said in a soft tone.

"How come it was so easy for you?" Beth asked sincerely, "to jus' pick up and leave from where you were?"

Daryl shook his head in disagreement, "It wasn't, but like I said, I don't wanna' talk about it"

It became silent for a few minutes, the sun now practically gone. Beth looked over at Daryl as he gazed ahead saying nothing, she was very interested in this man who just suddenly showed up in town, with an obvious, yet much unexplained past. He had a hard exterior and at first glance a person would think he was a no good person with criminal intent; however, Beth didn't think he was like that at all. Something about him was unlike anyone she'd ever met. Maybe it was because she'd been trapped in the same town her whole life, and was surrounded by the same people with good morals and a very religious backgrounds, or maybe it was just that she wanted to know someone who didn't live inside that same bubble, and find out what it was like. Either way, she wanted to know more.

"So, is my outfit really that bad?" Beth asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Daryl gave her a sideway stare as a smirk appeared across his lips, "Nah, I was jus' messin' with ya", his eyes scanned her up and down, "ya' look good… rebellious", he chuckled.

"Thanks", Beth chuckled a little, "I think I actually like this jacket, haven't worn it in years… these jeans though… feel like they're cutting my circulation off" she joked and a laugh escaped her mouth.

"Well, they definitely look like they fit well", Daryl said jokingly, again scanning her lower body with his eyes, "I have to say Beth, I'm really surprised that you said no other guys have ever really tried to get with ya"

Beth smiled and found herself blushing a little from his comment, "Why? Do you think I'm attractive Mr. Mysterious?"

She was expecting him to joke back, but instead his face hardened and he turned his head away, "We should get back, it's getting late"

Beth was confused; she was only joking and really didn't mean to make him upset or anything. He was finally starting to open up to her, and of course she had to ruin it.

Daryl slid off the guardrail and started the bike back up. Beth sat there a few more minutes in silence, mentally scolding herself for spoiling the good time they were having.

"Beth, c'mon" Daryl said in a stern voice.

She slid off the rail and walked towards him, "I was only jokin', you know that right?"

He nodded, avoiding eye contact with her; but she knew she had obviously aggravated him. Without saying anything else, she got on the back of his bike and again, wrapped her arms around Daryl to hold on, as he began driving off, to head back to town.

Beth wasn't sure why, but the past hour and a half had been one of the best she'd had in a long time, even if it didn't end on such a great note. She had to admit that there was something about Daryl that she really enjoyed, even if she didn't quite know him that well yet. Of course he was attractive, and she couldn't lie and say that the way his arms tightened just right as he gripped the handlebars of the motorcycle wasn't an extreme turn on for her; but, deeper than his physical appearance, there was something about his personality that intrigued her. However, she wasn't sure if he'd ever want to hang out with her again anyway. She figured she was probably too boring for his liking, and he would probably go back to barely saying a word to her anyway once the night was over.

Nonetheless, she took in every last minute, enjoying the darkened, yet beautiful views along the way as they soared down the empty roads and highways back to Senoia.

**XXXxxxxx**

* * *

When they finally reached the diner parking lot, Daryl pulled the bike into the parking spot next to Beths' truck. Beth jumped off the back, but Daryl remained seated, reaching into his inside pocket to grab a cigarette.

"Thanks for tonight" Beth said a little awkwardly as she watched him light the cigarette and take in a long drag, "I really had a good time"

"You make it sound like it was a date or somethin'" Daryl said unevenly as the cigarette rested gently in between his lips.

"No I didn't mean it like that" Beth insisted, she bit her lip out of nervousness, afraid of upsetting him again, "I jus' meant in general… I had a good time"

Daryl eyeballed the blonde, "I did too" he muttered, as if he was hesitant to say so.

Beth smiled and rubbed her arm as she tried to think of something to say in response, "Can I have one?" she asked and Daryl raised an eyebrow.

"You smoke?" he said surprised.

"Sometimes" she laughed, "I don't do it all the time though… Maggie hates it"

Daryl chucked then took the cigarette out of his mouth and passed her the remaining half, "Here", he said, and Beth took it from him.

Daryl watched as she took a drag from it, and blew the smoke out of her mouth, "Thanks" she said, before taking another drag.

Daryl continued observing her, something about the girl was surely appealing and a couple years prior he would have definitely tried to talk her up; but, he wouldn't allow himself to do so. He needed to focus, and stay focused if he wanted to get things sorted in his life. This girl wouldn't be anything but a distraction if he let her get to him.

"I'm gonna take off Beth, I'll see ya around" Daryl said as he revved the engine of the bike.

"Okay" she said with a smile and threw the finished cigarette to the ground, "See ya around Daryl"

She made her way into her truck and once she turned it on and began backing up towards the exit of the parking lot, Daryl did the same.

Beth disappeared down the dark road, and Daryl made his way towards the park, his usual sleeping spot. The entire ride there he couldn't get Beth out of his head. He wasn't sure if he was annoyed with himself for telling her too much about him, or if he actually enjoyed talking to the girl. Either way, he knew he needed to stop thinking about it, and refocus his mind on what was important. So with that, he tried the best he could to purge his thoughts; however, there was no doubt… the girl _definitely_ left a dent in his mind.

* * *

_**Hey everyone! So... Many Many MANY thanks to all of you who have been reviewing/ following... I am so happy you all are enjoying this and I can't believe there has been so many great responses so far! Obviously this was a bit of a turning point for Beth and Daryl, and now there is some attraction brewing ;) How do you guys think this is all going to play out? Do you think Daryl is going to get on his feet soon? Do you think he is going to get some help from others and let them know his situation? Do you suspect once he does get settled, will he have any unwanted visitors suddenly show up? I lovee reading your predictions, so keep them coming! I can't even begin to tell you how addicted I am with writing this story (LOL), I am constantly thinking about it and jotting down different events I want to have happen, it's pretty funny; but as long as people are enjoying it as much as I am writing it, than I don't feel so weird! Haha. **_

_**Well, I hope you enjoyed this longg chapter :) **_

_**L**__**et me know your thoughts! Xoxo**_


	7. A New Home

**A/N: _Hey Guys! So I'm sorry it's been two weeks since I last updated! Life has been busy! But thank you for all the Reviews / Favorites / and Follows! You guys are awesome! _**

**_So before I get into the story... OMG have you seen the past couple of episodes of The Walking Dead?! Soo much crazy shit has gone down! Sundays' episode with Lizzie and Mika was just heartbreaking... such a sad episode, an I have to admit that Melissa McBride's performance was amazing... she did such a great job in that episode! Also, the previous weeks' episode, with Daryl & Beth... OMG... lol I was like screaming at my TV 'Dude just make out with her already! Before something bad happens!' LOL and of course, something bad did happen... dammit! I was so sure Daryl was gonna 'get some' finally! Haha! _**

**_But anyways, so enough of that... This chapter is a sweet one for Daryl and I was happy for him while writing it, but just a preview to the next chapter... things are going to really start spicing up for Daryl and Beth... I know your all waiting :) With that being said... Enjoy!_**

* * *

Daryl stared up at the clock hanging on the red painted wall of the car garage. It was Saturday, which meant the shop closed early, at 1pm and closed the following day, on Sunday. Daryl didn't even know until he came in that morning and Glen told him, but nonetheless, he wasn't complaining. Saturday also meant payday, and being that this was his first check, he couldn't wait to receive it. All he had left to his name was a mere thirty two bucks, and an inside pocket filled with loose change. He couldn't wait to get his hands on some cash, especially so he could head straight to the nearest wireless dealer and pick himself up a cell phone. It had been almost a week since he'd been able to contact Sophia, and getting a cell phone meant that he didn't have to try and figure out a way to call her any longer. He hated the lack of communication between them since he left, and was really looking forward to being able to call her whenever he felt like it.

Glen came out of the office door with a big grin on his face; but Daryl had become so used to the kids' weirdness, that he just ignored him.

"Let's start cleaning up" Glen announced as he began throwing the tools back into the red trunk and prancing around like it was no one's business.

"It's only 12:30" Daryl said with a raised eyebrow.

"I know" Glen walked over to the chains on the garage door and began releasing them, "Boss says we can lock up early"

"Why?" Daryl asked as he wiped the oil stains off his hands with a rag.

"Why not?" Glen answered, his voice sarcastic, "Don't ask questions dude… I don't want to be here for another half hour"

Daryl agreed. He didn't mind leaving early neither, so the kid was right… why ask questions?

"What are you doing tonight? Any plans?" Glen asked as he pulled the closed and locked the bottom latch.

"Nah, nothin' planned" Daryl latched the top hook, "why?"

"Maggie and her sister are having people over their house tonight, nothing to crazy; but their dad went out of town for some convention and they decided to have, kind of like a party"

"Sounds fun" Daryl said sarcastically, in no way meaning it at all.

"You should come" Glen said, ignoring Daryl's cynicism, "hang out, it'll be fun"

"Nah, I'm good" Daryl said as he unzipped his uniform and stepped out of it, "but you wouldn't happen to know where I can find a mobile shop or somethin', would ya?"

"To buy a cellphone?" Glen asked, and when Daryl gave him an '_obviously'_ look, he quickly realized he asked a dumb question, "yeah, there's an electronics' depot about three miles out… they probably have the cheapest ones"

"Three miles out? Damn, do you always gotta travel to get things?"

"Yeah kinda", Glen chuckled, "I'll drive you if you want, being that you don't know where it is"

"How 'bout you jus' give me directions?"

"It's kind of hard to explain, I'm a GPS kind of guy" Glen joked, but Daryl didn't return the laugh, "I got to pick up something anyway, I'll just bring you"

Daryl sighed; _this kid was so damn clingy_, "Fine"

"Alright cool" Glen smiled, and then reached into his back pocket and pulled out two envelopes, one of which he handed out to Daryl, "I almost forgot, here's your pay… Dale gave them to me this morning"

Daryl took the envelope from his hand and slit open the top, sliding his fingers inside of it to get a peek. He quickly ran his fingers through it and approximated close to seven hundred dollars. His face creased in response and he looked up at Glen confused.

"There's a lot in here"

Glen laughed, "Dale's good like that, he pays great"

"Yeah, but I jus' started, and we haven't had more than three cars in here each day?"

"It's just been a slow week, trust me, the place makes decent money. You'll see, it'll pick up, watch"

Daryl nodded his head, but he honestly couldn't even wrap his head around how much money he earned. He was thinking he would make no more than two, possibly three hundred tops; but there was definitely over seven hundred dollars in the envelope and he was completely shocked. At that rate he could possibly get himself into an apartment by the end of the month. We're things finally beginning to look up for him?

Glen could see that Daryl was shocked, yet extremely happy; but he didn't mock him, he just smiled. "C'mon man, let's go", he said to Daryl as he shut the garage light and the two of them made their way out the shop door.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl and Glen were pretty quick in the store, basically going in for what they needed and leaving once finished. Daryl managed to get an older version IPhone for a decent price and a plan as well. Glen picked up a couple of Zombie movies that he and Maggie could watch together, he seemed to be real into those kinds of things and Daryl thought it was pretty odd; but didn't even bother to ask… he didn't want to know.

On the way back, Daryl agreed to stop at Glens' house with him for a little while. Glen wanted to change and get ready before heading to Maggies' house, and dropping Daryl off first would have been out of the way for him. So even though Daryl wasn't thrilled, he agreed… Glen did do him a favor by taking him to the store, so he wasn't going to be a jerk about it.

When they pulled up, Daryl recognized the truck in the driveway and knew that Dale must be home as well. He wasn't sure exactly how he felt about being at his bosses' house, and had actually forgotten that Glen lived with him up until that point.

"I forgot you live with Dale" Daryl said as Glen pulled behind the truck and shut the engine off.

"Yep. Don't worry though; he's probably engrossed in some fishing show on the TV anyway. Probably won't even notice you"

Daryl nodded, and the two of them got out the car and headed up towards the front door. Daryl scanned the property, looking around and observing the house. It wasn't anything too fancy, and was actually quite small, like a cape-cod style of some sort. It was pretty much what he expected of Dale, and was kind of surprised with how perfectly the place fit with his personality.

When they walked into the house, Dale was to the left, just at Glen said, watching TV.

"Hey Dale" Glen said as he and Daryl walked past. Dale didn't even look up, but instead waved a hand to acknowledge him, without saying a word.

Daryl followed Glen into a small kitchen with a bay window. Daryl looked around as Glen opened the refrigerator and pulled out a can of Coke.

"Want one?" Glen asked as he extended a can towards Daryl.

Daryl grabbed the can of Coke and said "Thanks", before cracking it open with his thumb, "This is a nice house"

"Yeah, I like it" Glen said, "its home for me, ya know?", Daryl didn't respond, he couldn't relate… he didn't know, "You never told me… where do you live?"

Daryl sipped his Coke slowly, his eyes hesitant to look up, "Nowhere right now", he said, almost ashamed.

"What do you mean nowhere?" Glen seemed confused, "where have you been staying?". Daryl looked up at Glen without answering and within seconds Glen realized, "Oh… what do you just sleep in a park every night or something?", Glen joked, but Daryl didn't find that very amusing.

"Jus' until I make enough money to get a place" Daryl said before downing the rest of the soda.

"Wait, you're serious?" Glen instantly felt bad for making a joke that clearly wasn't funny, "sorry dude, I didn't know"

Daryl shook his head, "Don't be… it ain't that bad anyway"

"What ain't that bad?" Dale said as he entered the kitchen, completely catching both Daryl and Glen off guard.

"Nothing" Glen said, and looked at Daryl for reassurance.

Daryl looked at Glen and then back at Dale. He didn't want to lie to his boss, especially being that his livelihood relied upon the job that the guy gave to him.

"Not havin' a place to live right now" Daryl finally answered, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

Dale grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and then leaned up against the counter as he opened it, "Is that so?" Dale seemed very casual as well, "I lived out on the road for a while, right outta' high school. Me and Irma, my late wife, we had this crazy idea that she and I could leave town and start a new life somewhere, in a city or somethin', so we headed for Atlanta"

"And what happened? How'd you end up back here?" Daryl asked.

Dale chuckled at the memories, "We found out very quickly that we really weren't all that into the city livin'… too expensive, too much traffic, everyone's always on the go… lasted maybe three months livin' out of my fathers' RV, and then one day we jus' decided to head back to Senoia", Dale took another swig of his beer and smiled, "I inherited my fathers' shop, and Irma started working for a local nursing home… and that was that, we jus' built a life here, and you know what? I loved every minute of it… but sometimes being out there in a place where you don't know anyone, and you have nothin', makes you realize what it is in life you really want, that's the beauty of it really"

Daryl nodded, he respected the timeworn man. It was obvious that he had a lot of wisdom and a good heart, which was hard to come by, "Ever regret comin' back?"

"Nope, never" Dale said confidently, "like I said, we built our life here and it was the best years of my life"

"If you don't mind me askin'," Daryl bit his lip, "what happened to your wife?"

"Cancer" Dale said softly, "she fought it for a long time; but eventually it jus' took her under"

"Sorry" Daryl said delicately, looking down at the floor.

Dale shook his head, "She went out smiling though, strongest woman I've ever met"

The kitchen became very silent, both Glen and Daryl were unsure of what to say to such an emotional subject. Dale remained silent as well for a few seconds, obviously reminiscing on the memories of his wife. After a few small smiles, he eventually looked up and grinned at Daryl.

"Well, enough about that" he said with a smile, "Are you lookin' to rent a place in particular?"

"Nah, haven't looked yet" Daryl said, "waitin' to save a bit and then I'll figure it out"

Daryl nodded, but it was clear that he was thinking about something else.

"Hey guys" Glen suddenly interrupted, "I'm gonna' jump in the shower real quick so I can get cleaned up, I'll be right back"

Daryl nodded and Glen exited the kitchen to do as he said. The room became somewhat quiet after, Daryl fiddled with the top of the Coke can, and Dale stared, still obvious that something was on his mind.

"Come with me Daryl" all of a sudden Dale spoke, and began walking towards the front door, "I want to show you something"

Daryl looked up puzzled, but followed the man anyway. They exited the house and began walking past the driveway, and towards a wooden door on the side of the garage. Dale bent down and slipped a key out from underneath the door mat in front of it. Daryl's face furrowed in confusion, still unsure of why he asked him to come with him.

Dale turned the key and opened the door, flicking on the light switch. The room lit up, revealing a light blue pull-out sofa, a small TV, an old wooden desk with a chair, a mini-kitchen, and a bathroom. It was obviously out dated and lacked any kind of usage, but nonetheless, a cozy little living space.

"What is this?" Daryl said, as he scanned the room.

"This was Irma's unofficial office I guess" Dale said as he swiped his hand across the back of the blue couch, "She liked to write, always dreamt of being a professional author; but it never really worked out. I built this for her shortly before she developed the cancer… she never got much use of it though"

"So why did you want to show me this?" Daryl asked, still confused.

"Well, you said you didn't have a place to live right?" Dale smiled, "It's yours if you want, for now… It doesn't have much use anyway these days"

Daryl's eyes widened, he couldn't believe Dale was offering the room to him. And why? Why was this man so generous to him when he didn't even know a thing about him?

"Oh, I can't accept that from you…" Daryl started; but Dale quickly interrupted him and placed a hand up to stop him from talking.

"Yes you can" Dale laughed, "consider it a head start, until you save up enough money to get a place of your own"

Daryl didn't know what to say, his face still confused. He again, scanned the entire room. It was small, kind of like a studio apartment, but it had heat and air conditioning, a couch to sleep on, a bathroom, a kitchen. It was actually all he needed, but still, he couldn't wrap his head around why Dale was being so offering to him. Anyone who ever offered something to him, always expected something in return, that's just how his life was.

"Why would you do this for me?" Daryl asked, trying not to come off to skeptical.

Dale shrugged, "Why not?"

"Because you don't know anything about me" Daryl stated.

"Ehh, who really knows anything about anyone?" Dale chuckled but became serious when he realized that Daryl was extremely confused, "listen, I have it, so why not offer it. I would have killed for someone to offer me something like this, back in Atlanta. Just think of it as something I would like to do for myself, my contribution to someone who is going through something I experienced many years ago"

"But you gave me a job, trust me, you've helped me out more than you know" Daryl insisted

"And I'm glad I could help" Dale said as he threw Daryl the key to the garage apartment, "but I insist on helping more"

Daryl caught the key in his hand and looked down at it for a few seconds. Dale smiled as he watched him, he could tell that Daryl needed this, even though he was kind enough to try and decline it.

Dale started making his way out the door and Daryl looked up, still completely in shock.

"Dale?" Daryl said just as Dale was about to walk out the door, "I'll pay you for this"

Dale smiled, "You do what you can Daryl" and he exited the door, leaving Daryl alone inside the apartment.

Daryl just stood there, completely shocked by what just happened. Was this real? Did Dale really just give him a place to stay, with no strings attached? He almost felt like pinching himself because things like this didn't happen to people like him, at least it never had before.

As he stood there examining his new home, he couldn't help but let a smile appear across his face. He definitely had the utmost respect for Dale, and if there were any thoughts that he might not be as nice of a guy as he claimed to be, Daryl knew for sure now that he was. He'd helped him more in the past seven days than anyone had ever helped him in his entire life, and he was extremely thankful.

**XxxX**

* * *

At least an hour had passed since Glen had gone to get cleaned up, and Daryl spent at least the first half hour in shock, trying to comprehend what had just been given to him, and the remaining half hour trying to get acquainted with his new cell phone. He wasn't very 'tech-savvy', so the thing was actually pissing him off more than it was intriguing him. As he was trying to figure out a way to store his contacts, really only Carol's number for Sophia, a text message appeared on the screen.

"Congrats Dude! Dale just told me, we're roommates! Well kinda"

Daryl shook his head but before he had a chance to respond, there was a knocking on the apartment door, and he knew it was Glen.

He got up an opened it, and sure enough Glen was standing there with the biggest smile across his face.

Daryl rolled his eyes and a small smirk appeared, "What did you swipe my cell number as the tech was writing it down for me?"

Glen walked into the apartment behind Daryl and laughed, "Maybe, figured you'd be hard to get it out of, so I may have peeked"

Daryl sat back down on the couch, "Yeah, well don't be blowing it up either"

Glen followed, "Don't have to" he chuckled, "I can just walk over and talk to you, roomie"

Daryl rolled his eyes, "Lucky me".

Glen laughed, "Oh come' on, I'm not that bad"

Daryl raised an eyebrow, and smiled.

"So, I think you should come tonight… to Maggie's" Glen said with a smile.

"Nah, I'm good… not into house parties"

"It's not a house party per say…" Glen said, "just a couple of people… and besides, Beth will be there"

Daryl's face furrowed, "and?"

"And, I mean c'mon man, you two hung out last night, you obviously like her"

"We didn't hang out, I took her for a ride because otherwise all she'd do is nag the shit outta' me until I did, ain't never said I like the chick"

"Whatever, either way… c'mon it'll be fun" Glen insisted.

"Yeah… fun… right" Daryl answered sarcastically, "jus' do me a favor and take me to get my bike and I'll think about it"

Glen's face hardened, "You're a liar… I'm gonna take you to get your bike and then you're gonna' come back here with no intentions of even thinkin' about it"

Daryl gave him a sideway stare, "jus' take me to get my bike"

Glen sighed, "Fine… but I'm telling you dude, it'll be fun… you should jus' think about it"

Daryl ignored him and the two of them got up and headed out of the apartment towards Glens car.

**XxxxX**

* * *

When they reached the diner parking lot, Daryl jumped out of the car and started heading over towards his parked bike. Glen sat there for a few minutes observing with a sneaky smile on his face, but Daryl didn't notice.

Just as Daryl approached his bike, his cell phone began buzzing. He grabbed the phone and looked at it confused; no one except Glen had his number, so he had no idea who could be calling him.

He slowly lifted the phone to his ear, "Hello?"

"Daryl?" a cheery southern voice came through the receiver.

"Who is this?" Daryl asked, his eyes narrowing.

"It's Beth"

Daryl's face hardened and he spun around to see Glen laughing in the drivers' seat of his car as he pulled out the parking lot shouting "I had to dude, you should come!" out of his window.

Daryl swung his head back in frustration; he was going to kill Glen later.

"What do you want?" he said annoyed.

"Well it's nice to talk to you too, jerk!" Beth said sarcastically, "Glen told me the news that you are movin' into Dales' garage apartment… congrats"

"Yeah, thanks" his tone still hardened.

"Anyhow, you should celebrate… your settling in to Senoia and all" she suggested.

"Oh yeah?" Daryl said sarcastically, "let me guess, by comin' to you and your sisters' little fuckin' house party?"

"Maybe, yeah" Beth answered, "or maybe you could jus' swing by and take me out on the bike again?"

"You know, you're gettin' a little annoying girl… I did it once, I ain't never said I was gonna' do it again"

"Oh come' on, you had jus' as much fun as I did" she scoffed.

"Yeah? Says who?"

"Oh stop being such a hard ass… is it so bad to say that you're makin' a friend?" she insisted. Daryl didn't answer so she continued, "jus' come by later… we can jus' hang out"

"Why do you want me to come so bad?" he asked with a partial annoyance in his voice.

"Cause' I do" she insisted, "and besides, I like hangin' out with you… you're different from everyone else around here"

"I'll think about it" he said, his voice softening up a little.

"Fine", she said, "but if you don't, I'll jus' call you a hundred times anyway… remember, I got your number now" she joked.

"Bye Beth" Daryl said, rolling his eyes.

"Bye Daryl" she said, still laughing.

As Daryl hung up the phone he shook his head. He was definitely going to kill Glen later; but he had to admit, Beth was sort of funny, in her own weird annoying way. Maybe he'd go… he'd decide once he got back to the apartment.

And with that he started his bike and took off down the road, back towards his new… _home_.


	8. You're a Fuckin' Knockout Alright?

**Hey Guys! So I decided to post another chapter being that my email was notifying me like CRAZY yesterday from all of your reviews/ follows/ favorites! You guys are fucking AWESOME! Haha, I am so glad that your all enjoying this story, it seriously is so rewarding to know that people are enjoying my ideas! So THANK YOU :)**

**So this is a BIG chapter (excitement overload lol), and I'm sure it's probably the beginning to what some of you are waiting for ;) **

**I had to change the rating to M now because the story is starting to heat up, and it's just going to get more and more detailing as the chapters continue (yay!), so be sure to change the rating preference when searching for it, if you don't already follow (which you should lol) or if you are reading under 'guest'.**

**With that said, hope you enjoy! And I'll be looking forward to your reviews! Xoxo**

* * *

Daryl walked into the living area of his apartment bearing a pair of grungy black jeans and no shirt, while tasseling a white towel through his wet hair. He just stood there, looking around, still completely stunned that he actually had somewhere to call home for now, and not to mention the fact that he'd finally been able to take a long hot shower in a bathroom that wasn't just rented out for the night. It was relaxing and completely satisfying to know that he didn't have to sleep on a hard wooden bench anymore, or worry that someone would rob him in the middle of the night.

He collapsed onto the blue couch and laid his head back for a few minutes, just thinking about everything that happened throughout the day. He made a decent paycheck, he was able to get a cell phone, he was offered a place to live, and he had a nice lengthy conversation with his daughter earlier. Things couldn't get any better, he felt like life was starting to look up for him, finally.

His eyes were closing as he thought about everything, when suddenly his cellphone began ringing on the arm of the couch. He looked over to find Beth's name across the screen. He wasn't going to answer it at first, but for some strange reason he did anyway.

"Hi Beth" Daryl said, his tone nowhere near excited.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Why?" Daryl responded.

"C'mon Daryl, I told ya I was gonna' call you if you didn't show up" she said with a laugh.

"Why is it so important for me to come there?" he asked while rolling his eyes.

"It's not that it's important Daryl", Beth's voiced softened a little; "God is it so hard for you to jus' hang out with someone who considers you a friend?"

Daryl let his guard drop a little; it wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with the girl or her sister and Glen; but more along the lines that he just wasn't used to having friends. Normal friends that is, people who aren't drug users or dealers and were legit just genuine normal people.

"Fine" Daryl said, "I'll come"

"Really?" Beth said, kind of surprised, "well that was easy"

"Yeah, don't get used to it" Daryl joked.

"Whatever Daryl" Beth laughed, "I'll see you when you get here then"

"Bye Beth" he said before hanging up the phone.

He sat on the couch a few more minutes, wondering what he was about to get himself into. How bad could it be? If he really felt uncomfortable, then he'd just leave; but he knew at some point he was going to have to start living… or at least try to. He came to this town to start over, and if he just kept himself locked up in the same room all day everyday, then he would just be recreating his old life all over again, with the exception of his father.

So with that thought, Daryl extended his arm over towards his green duffle bag and pulled out the only clean t-shirt he had left, and slipped it over his head.

He stood up and dried his hair one more time with the towel, leaving it to shag messily, grabbed his keys and cellphone and headed out the door.

**XxxX**

* * *

Daryl slowed as he approached the familiar gates surrounding the wide open farm house and the memorable red barn. He hesitated at first to enter, still second guessing even coming in the first place; but once again, he brushed aside the thoughts and told himself to just get it over with.

He was sure to text Beth before he left, asking for the address, just to cover himself, even though he was fully aware of where she lived. Obviously he couldn't tell her that, hence the reason he asked her.

As he entered the gate and drove his bike down the long dirt driveway, he observed the land. He was able to actually see how much space there actually was around the house this time, especially since his view wasn't constricted by a small barn window. The place was actually pretty nice, and the quietness was really calming.

He brought the bike to a stop on the side of the walkway and decided to light a cigarette before ringing the bell. He did just that, and then slowly began walking towards the rather large front porch. As he approached, he came to a halt when he overheard someone, a guy, on the porch talking on his phone.

"Yeah, this shit is lame, tryna' get out of here. What are you doin'?" the unknown guy said and Daryl unintentionally overheard.

"How 'bout you come pick me up and me and you go do somethin' fun?" the guy said seductively, and Daryl felt himself hold back a chuckle.

"You know what kinda' fun I'm talkin' bout" he said, but stopped himself when the front door opened and Beth walked outside onto the porch.

"Jimmy, what are you doin'?" she asked, and he quickly hung the phone up.

"Nothin', jus' needed some air" he answered, and Daryl's eyes creased when he realized the guy was Beth's on again/off again boyfriend or whatever. He was obviously lying to Beth, and even though it wasn't any of his business, he felt himself become a little annoyed by the guys' lack of honesty. He never really understood that… if you didn't want to be with a girl, than be straight-forward, tell her how it is. Don't just drag the girl along and play her every chance you get.

Daryl walked over towards the porch, revealing himself and Beth looked up, cutting her conversation short with Jimmy.

"Daryl, Hey" she said smiling, and Jimmy gave a macho/ confused stare.

"What's up?" Daryl said while nodding, and walking up the stairs.

"I'm glad you came" she said, fully welcoming him and Jimmy narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, Daryl, this is Jimmy… Jimmy, this is Daryl" she said politely, and Daryl nodded towards him. Jimmy didn't react, but instead grilled him with his eyes. Daryl noticed right away that the guy was obviously a jerk, but he didn't feed into it.

"Glen's inside?" he asked Beth and she nodded smiling, gesturing towards the door.

Daryl gave a quick nod and entered the house, leaving Beth outside on the porch with Jimmy. They clearly needed to talk and he wasn't sure he should be involved.

When he walked inside, he could hear people laughing and just followed the sounds till he reached a big dining room, with six or seven people lined up playing beer pong. Maggie and Glen were both playing, and Daryl couldn't help but notice how many liquor bottles and beer cans there were everywhere. People were obviously trying to get shit-faced, that was evident.

"Daryl!" Glen shouted and waved his hands up in the air, and Maggie followed with a big drunk smile. They were both wasted and it was clear by Glen's stumbling that he already had far too many.

"What's up dude?" he slurred as he slapped his hand on Daryl's arm. Initially Daryl raised an eyebrow at him; but after seeing just how far gone the kid was, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Glad you came Daryl" Maggie said, her tone a little less sloppy then Glens, "have a drink, we have plenty"

Daryl looked nodded and Glen handed him a beer, spilling a little over the edge and onto the floor.

"Sorry" he laughed with an inebriated snort.

"Don't mind him" Maggie said to Daryl while laughing, "He's a lightweight"

"I see" Daryl said with a grin, he actually found it quite funny.

"C'mon, come meet everyone" Maggie said as she grabbed Daryl over to introduce him to her friends, most of who were in the same state as Glen.

"This is Andrea" she pointed to a blonde who was taking a turn at the game of beer pong, "this is Sasha", a petite dark skinned girl waved from her seat at the table, "this is Bob, Sasha's boyfriend" a dark skinned man waved from the table as well, "this is Amy, Andrea's sister" she pointed to another blonde who was cheering her sister on, "and this is Tyreese, Sasha's brother", the tall dark man nodded as he poured himself another shot of tequila.

Daryl leaned up against the wall and twisted open the bottle of Budweiser in his hands, slowly taking a swig while observing the group of people.

Suddenly a loud bang was heard from the crashing of the front door, and Jimmy came storming through the dining room, grabbing his jacket off one of the chairs and quickly retreating back out of the room, following with another slam of the front door.

Maggie looked up and rolled her eyes, barely even acknowledging the guy, as if it was nothing new.

"Somebody's mad" Glen said jokingly.

"What else is new? That asshole is always mad about somethin'" Maggie retorted, obvious that she didn't like the guy.

Daryl looked over his shoulder towards the empty hallway, wondering if Beth was out there arguing with him; but again, he didn't want to get in their business; he sure as hell didn't like when people got in his.

All of a sudden Beth finally came into the dining room and without saying a word she walked straight over to the jar of moonshine and drank it straight from the bottle, not even bothering to look for a glass. She didn't look mad per say, but it was pretty obvious that she just wanted to forget whatever happened out on the porch with Jimmy.

Daryl just watched the girl, as she quickly downed the entire jar in about three swigs. She wasn't playing any games; she definitely wanted to get bombed. She then grabbed a bottle of Budweiser and started walking towards Daryl, her eyes focused on him.

She approached him and leaned up onto her tippy toes, whispering in Daryl's ear, "Got a smoke?"

She leaned back down and looked up at him without any facial expression, waiting for his reply. He just looked at her for a few seconds and then gave a sharp nod. She then walked past him and towards the front door, nodding her head for him to follow.

He followed the girl out the house, thinking she would sit on the porch and smoke the cigarette she apparently wanted; but his face furrowed in confusion when the girl walked past the porch, down the steps and off onto the grass.

"Uh Beth, where are you goin'?" Daryl said from the porch with his hands extended in question.

"Maggie doesn't like me smokin', remember?" she shouted over her shoulder as she continued walking across the grass and towards the red barn.

Daryl dropped his hands down and shook his head, before jogging down the steps to follow the blonde.

Daryl finally caught up to her as she approached the barn doors and unlocked the hinges. She walked inside and Daryl followed hesitantly. It felt really strange entering the barn he slept in illegally just a short week ago.

They walked into the barn and Daryl scanned the familiar surroundings. Everything looked exactly the same, minus the horse. It must have been out in the fences or something, he figured.

Daryl reached into his jean pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, extending them out to Beth so she could grab one. Once she did, he grabbed one for himself and placed it in between his lips, lighting it with his other hand. Beth took the lighter and lit hers as well, before returning the lighter back to him.

It was silent for a few minutes, and Daryl observed the blonde through the corner of his eyes, as she soothingly took in the drags of her cigarette. He found himself studying the girls' small figure. It was hard not to; she had on body-hugging denim jeans, and a shortened gray shirt, completely revealing her well-sculpted abdomen, and the sleeve rested slightly under her shoulder, exposing her left shoulder blade as well. She was definitely a sexy girl; there was no way he could deny it.

"Thanks for the smoke" Beth said as she released a drag, "I needed it, bad"

"Everything okay?" Daryl asked.

"Mhm" she said, "I'm jus' fine"

Daryl could sense a bit of anger in her voice, but he wasn't sure if it was that or the alcohol.

"Ya don' seem fine", he suggested; taking the last drag of his cigarette.

Beth dropped the end of her cigarette and crushed it with her boot, stumbling forward and almost crashing to the ground. Daryl extended his arm out and grabbed a hold of her so she wouldn't fall, but quickly released his grasp once she steadied herself again.

"Well I am" Beth turned to face Daryl, standing directly in front of him. Her eyes were a bit hazy and he could definitely tell that the whole jar of moonshine she'd just downed in the kitchen was kicking in. Daryl threw his cigarette down to the ground and crushed it with his foot as well, still looking at Beth as she inched closer in front of him.

Daryl found himself backing up, eventually coming to a halt as his back leaned up against the barn wall.

"I knew you'd come" Beth said with a drunk smile, inches away from him.

Daryl couldn't help but laugh, drunken Beth was actually kind of funny. He raised his eyebrow and a small chortle left his mouth, "Don't be so confident" he joked and Beth smiled, biting her lip.

She didn't say anything though, just inched even closer with her blue eyes dead set on his. Daryl rested one foot up against the wall and just stared down at the drunk blonde as she came dangerously close to him.

"Beth what are you doing?" Daryl said, his eyes still locked on hers.

Beth bit her lip again, and whispered "Kiss me" very seductively.

Daryl continued looking at her, and swallowed hard as the girls wide eyes focused hard on his face.

"You're drunk" he said, Beth's body now touching his slightly.

"So what" she breathed, tracing the outline of his lips with her eyes, "I know what I'm doing"

Daryl watched her as the tip of her tongue gently glided across her bottom lip; but before he could even think of anything to say, Beth's body rose up on her tippy toes and her lips crashed against his.

Daryl took a surprised breath through his nose, before his right hand irrepressibly grabbed a hold of Beth's hip bone, his fingers pressing firmly into the crease of her well-curved side. He thought about resisting the girl for a split second, but once her body leaned against his on the wall, it made it nearly impossible for him to do so.

Beth raised her hands up and pressed them against the contours of Daryl's jaw as she slowly continued kissing him; the tip of her tongue gradually making contact with his. His jawline was tense and in efforts to calm him, she gently slid the tips of her fingers across it, repeating the movement back and forth as Daryl's breathing grew fainter.

The slow and chilling movement triggered chills down Daryl's spine, and his grip grew firmer on Beth's waist, as his lips fought for dominance against hers. Beth let out a shaky groan when Daryl's teeth bit down hard against her bottom lip, causing her hands to graze the lines of his neck, eventually traveling up towards the nape of his neck and lightly griping a handful of his hair inside her hand.

Her soft yet forceful contact caused the Daryl's body temperature to rise, and he unexpectedly gripped a hold of Beth's thighs, right below the curves of her ass, and lifted her up against him, and swinging her around causing her to crash against the barn wall. She leaned her back against it and her legs wrapped securely around Daryl's waist while their kiss intensified.

Daryl's hands trailed the entire curve of her ass, eventually skimming up her spine and persisting underneath her loose shirt. Beth shuttered at his touch and as their lips varied in pressure, Beth grabbed a hold of his forearms, gently drawing them forwards and guiding them underneath the front of her shirt and towards her breast.

Daryl could feel himself swelling as his fingertips slid under the bottom of her bra, and grazed along her hardened nipples. He harshly bit down on her lip as an oppressive growl left his mouth.

Suddenly Daryl's hand dropped, and he constrained himself, gently loosening Beth's legs from his waist and pushing them down and back on to the floor. He parted from her lips, raising his hand to his forehead and letting out a resilient breath.

Beth's face furrowed in confusion as she watched Daryl slowly back away from her, her lips still pulsating and her body still trembling.

"What? What happened?" she said, her voice very weak.

Daryl shook his head, completely avoiding eye contact with her, as he adjusted his jeans, trying to conceal and excited area of his body, "Beth you're wasted, I can't do this"

Beth dropped her head back against the barn wall, "I don't fucking get it" she groaned, her words slurring a bit.

Daryl glared at her through the upper corners of his eyes, "You're jus' drunk and pissed off about that Jimmy guy, you wouldn't be doin' this if you were sober"

Beth tilted her head back down and her eyes narrowed, "Don't tell me what I would be doin'... you don't know anything"

"Fine" Daryl said with a hardened tone, "maybe I don't, but I'm not gonna' let you do somethin' you might regret once the gallon of fuckin' moonshine wears off"

"How do you know I would regret it?" she shouted with a slurred, yet heated tone, "I'm so tired of everyone thinkin' they know what I'm feelin' or assumin' they know what I want!"

Daryl didn't respond, there was no use. Obviously Beth wasn't going to let it go; the alcohol wouldn't let her, and he learned from his experiences that arguing with someone highly intoxicated was pointless, they only hear what they want to hear.

"I don't get it," her voice softened, and her eyes focused on him, "am I not attractive, am I not sexy enough?"

Daryl looked at the inebriated blonde with a baffled expression; of course she was fucking attractive, in fact he thought she was extremely sexy, but it was apparent that she was dealing with some kind of emotional tug-of-war after her argument with Jimmy, and that was the only reason she was doing this; to prove a point to herself. Daryl didn't have it in him to take advantage of the girl, maybe he would have when he was younger; but not anymore. He knew what it was like to feel used.

"What makes you think you aren't attractive Beth?" Daryl asked, "That asshole, Jimmy?" Beth bit her lip and Daryl could tell by the increase in her blinking, that she was trying to hold back tears. He shook his head and a small chuckle left his mouth, "for such a smart-ass, ya' sure let pricks like him get inside your head". Beth stared at Daryl, she didn't say a word; she just listened as he continued speaking, "for the record, you're a fuckin' knockout alright?" he said, as he paced in front of her, "But right now, you're extremely drunk and pissed off, and whether or not you agree, I don't want you to do somethin' you're gonna regret later alright?"

Beth let out a small chuckle and muttered, "So you do think I'm attractive?"

Daryl shook his head at the blonde and held back a laugh, "Boy did this night turn out unexpected"

A small laugh left Beth's mouth, and she smiled at Daryl, "You're a good person, you know that?", she said softly and Daryl glared at her through the corner of his eyes as he reached into his pocket to pull out another cigarette.

"Yeah, you're lucky," he joked as he placed the cigarette in between his lips, "how are ya' feelin' anyway?"

"Like shit," Beth chortled and she placed her hand on top of her head, "my heads pounding"

"Chuggin' a whole jar of moonshine'll do that to ya" Daryl said as he took a drag of his cigarette, "c'mon, you should go lay down before it gets worse. I gotta head back anyway" he said, while tilting his head and motioning towards the door of the barn.

Beth agreed without saying anything, she knew he was right, and besides, crashing against her pillow seemed like a pretty appealing thing at that moment. Her head was seriously throbbing, and getting worse by the minute.

The two of them made their way back towards the house, completely silent the whole way. Daryl occasionally reaching his arm out to steady Beth as she sporadically stumbled a few times over her own feet.

As the approached the porch steps, Daryl helped her up them and towards her door, holding it open for her. She walked inside, and the hallway light revealed her tasseled hair, probably caused by the heated moment in the barn. Daryl laughed indiscreetly at it; the poor girl looked like a mess.

Beth walked in the house and Daryl was about to close the door behind her, when she placed her hand on it to stop him, "Hey", she said in a soft tone, "thanks"

Daryl gave a small nod, biting the side of his cheek as he took another look at the blondes blue eyes.

"I'll see you around?" she asked with a soft smile.

"Mhmm" he responded, "goodnight Beth", and he turned away, leaving Beth to close the door on her own.

She smiled as she watched him make his way down the stairs and towards his bike. She kind of knew that she would probably regret her actions by the next day, but something inside of her was telling her that he wouldn't hold it against her. She really did think he was a genuine person, and his resisting her in the barn, proved that he wasn't just a jerk ready to get some action whenever it was readily available.

She closed the door, leaning up against it for a few minutes, replaying all that happened in her mind. She couldn't help but trace her fingers across her swollen lips as the memory of Daryl's kiss ran through her thoughts. She smiled at the vision; but was slowly brought back to reality once the increasing throbbing of her head returned. She really needed to lie down, that was for sure. And with that, she carefully made her way towards the stairs and up to her bedroom, completely ignoring the drunken laughing still echoing from the dining room.

**XxxxX**

* * *

**Remember to review! I'm dying to know your thoughts! :)**


	9. Something About Her

_Hey everyone. Thank you for all your reviews follows and favorites, I can't believe you are all enjoying this story so much... I am seriously so amazed at how much feedback I've received thus far, so thank you thank you thank you all! :)_

_Just a quick note, I honestly love when you give your opinions on where I should take this story, so please continue doing so! I do have a plot already mapped out; however, I have recently changed up a few things because I really liked the idea of Daryl wanting Beth, rather than the normal, Beth wanting Daryl predicaments. So I decided to give Daryl more of a vulnerability now, and have him wanting Beth a little bit more, and receiving resistance from her instead. Please don't forget to leave a review and let me know your thoughts. I think this is a building chapter, so there isn't that much craziness going on; however, it has a nice Bethyl moment in there :)_

_Okay, so enough with that... enjoy!_

* * *

Beth pulled her damp blonde hair back, and into a high messy ponytail. She didn't even bother smoothing down the small flyaways; it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone anyway. She felt like _hell_; like pure and utter hell. The headache she fell asleep with the night before, was throbbing in full force that morning, ready for her as soon as she woke up. She was nauseous too, and just the mere smell of food would possibly make her spill her guts out everywhere. It was hard enough just trying to down a glass of water with the four capsules of Tylenol; but, she managed, even if it was _just barely_. She wasn't even going to try with food though… eventually as the day progressed, her appetite would return to normal again so she could wait, it wasn't worth the struggle.

She threw a loose sweatshirt on over her tank top; pulling it down at far as it would go, and cuddling her hands into the ends of the loose sleeves. She wished she could have stayed in the shower a bit longer; it was the only thing that really stopped the throbbing in her head, but she couldn't, there were things that needed to be done. She had to get downstairs and start cleaning up the mess before her father returned home that afternoon. The place had to have looked like a disaster, _she was sure of it_.

Most likely everyone was still fast asleep, whoever decided to crash at the house at least. Maggie, Glen, and the others were still going strong when she fell asleep, so she was betting that most of them just passed out there and they weren't planning on getting up anytime soon.

After quickly slipping on a pair of slippers, she reluctantly made her way down the stairs, catching a glimpse of at least four people crashed on the floor of the living room, mouths open and loud snores escaping them. She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of taking pictures of them all like that and posting them online. It would be hilarious; but they'd _definitely rip her a new one_ if she did, so instead she entertained just the thought momentarily.

As she walked through the archway and into the dining room, she was surprised by how unexpectedly less of a mess it was. Granted; there were empty beer and liquor bottles on the floor, as well as some spilled beer and crushed cups along the table from the many games of beer pong; but still, it definitely wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be.

Just as she grabbed an empty trash bag from the cabinet, her phone buzzed in her sweatshirt pocket, and she reached her hands in to retrieve it.

**_To: Beth_**

**_From: Daryl_**

**_Good Morning Lush, how ya feelin'?_**

A grin crept across Beth's face as she read the text, and then proceeded to reply,

**_To: Daryl_**

**_From: Beth_**

**_Like crap! Lol… hey, sorry for the way I acted last night – I'm so embarrassed._**

Beth waited a few minutes for his reply, and began picking up some of the empty bottles and cans, and tossing them into the bag. Her phone buzzed again, and she looked down to read the reply,

**_To: Beth_**

**_From: Daryl_**

**_It's already forgotten, don't worry about it. But listen, what are you doing later this afternoon? I need a favor._**

Beth's eyes creased in curiosity, Daryl actually needed a favor, from _her_? She proceeded to reply.

**_To: Daryl_**

**_From: Beth_**

**_Nothing planned. What's the favor?_**

Beth found herself slowly lowering to the floor and eventually sitting on the ground, leaving the bag beside her. She waited for his reply, which didn't take very long before her phone buzzed again,

**_To: Beth_**

**_From: Daryl_**

**_I need to go to some kind of home store or something, pick up a few things… don't really know where one is, and I figured you're a female so you'd know lol… plus, I ain't much for good taste, so your opinion may be needed._**

Beth found herself chuckling at his reply. She could only imagine what kind of things Daryl would pick out for his new place, and she knew he probably really needed her help – that is, _if he wanted his place to look somewhat decent_.

**_To: Daryl_**

**_From: Beth_**

**_Haha, sure I'll go with you. What time?_**

Beth waited, but it was only seconds before Daryl replied back,

**_To: Beth_**

**_From: Daryl_**

**_2?_**

Beth thought about it for a few minutes, it was only 10am, so that left her four hours to clean up and then get herself dressed. She figured it would be more than enough time.

**_To: Daryl_**

**_From: Beth_**

**_That should be fine. You'll pick me up here?_**

Beth placed the phone in her lap, until Daryl's reply flashed on the screen,

**_To: Beth_**

**_From: Daryl_**

**_Yeah. See ya then. Thx._**

Beth placed her phone back into her pocket, and smiled as she picked herself back up from the floor and continued cleaning. She really liked Daryl as a person, and so far, from what she knew of him, he really seemed like a nice guy. Any of the guys in town would have taken the opportunity to take advantage of her, while she was in the state she was in the night before. But Daryl didn't, and for that, she knew he was a good person with a good heart.

She also, couldn't deny the fact that he was attractive, and even though part of her wanted to find out more about him, romantically; she also didn't want to ruin the one real good friendship she was forming with him neither. Besides Maggie, there weren't many people from Senoia that she could trust, and having someone that she could just be herself around and have fun with, and know that he wouldn't do anything to offend or hurt her was comforting. It was a nice change, and she wasn't sure she'd ever want to risk losing that over trying to pursue a romantic involvement with him.

Just as her thoughts were going into overload, she quickly snapped herself out of them. She needed to hurry up and get the rooms cleaned, so that she had enough time to get herself dressed and cleaned up. And with that, she continued picking up all the empty cans and bottles and tried to hurry as quickly as she could to finish.

**XxxxxX**

* * *

Daryl slowed his bike as he made his way down the Greene's driveway, coming to a stop right in front of the porch stairs. He noticed that there was another car in the driveway this time, a brown and red pickup, and assumed it was Beth's fathers'.

He was about to pull out his cell phone from his jacket pocket and text Beth, when Hershel, Beth's father, came walking around the corner of the house, with two buckets of horse feed in his hands.

Daryl looked up and paused, feeling almost nervous as the man approached him; his eyes squinting from the sun as he made eye contact with Daryl.

"Well Hello" Hershel said as he placed the buckets on the ground and wiped his hands on his brown overalls, before extending a hand out to Daryl, "You must be Daryl?"

Daryl shook the man's hand and gave a quick nod.

"Beth says you're new to the town" he said as he released his hand, "I'm Hershel, her father"

"Nice to meet you" Daryl said, his face hardened even though he didn't mean to come off so rough, it was just in his demeanor.

"Beth says you need a woman's eye to pick out some things for your place" Hershel said and Daryl again gave a quick nod, "Well, I know the feelin'… Men, we don't do well when it comes to home interior design and stuff"

Daryl gave a small laugh and loosened up is posture a little bit before answering, "Yeah, that's for sure"

Hershel nodded, and then his eyes turned towards Daryls' motorcycle, "So, you and Beth are going on that?" Daryl looked over towards his bike and nodded, and Hershel took a deep breath, "Are you a safe driver on that thing? I wouldn't want my little girl gettin' hurt now"

"Always" Daryl said simply, while giving a confirming nod.

Hershel looked as if he wanted to say more but didn't, because Beth opened and came walking out of the front and on to the porch.

"Daryl, hey" she looked nervous as her eyes shot back and forth between him and her father, "U-uh, Daddy, you've met Daryl I assume"

"I have" Hershel said with a nod, "just a second ago"

"Oh, okay good" she said, still nervous and searching Daryl with her eyes for some kind of reassurance that it went well.

"Yeah, he was just asking about my bike" Daryl said to Beth, and her face tensed a little.

"Oh… Daryl is a very careful driver Daddy" Beth said to her father and bit her lip when she expected a protest from him.

Hershel nodded, "Well, good"

Beth's stomach dropped a little, and she seemed a bit confused that her father wasn't going to argue with her about getting on the motorcycle with Daryl; however, she wasn't going to question his reaction neither.

"Well, we better get going then Daryl" Beth said as she made her way down the steps and over towards her father, where she planted a small kiss on his cheek, "I'll be home later Daddy"

"Okay" Hershel said to her, and then glanced back over towards Daryl, "You drive carefully"

"Will do" Daryl said with a nod and then restarted his bike; Beth walking over and getting on the back of it.

Hershel stood there watching as both Daryl and Beth rode down the driveway and towards the road. He definitely didn't like the idea of Beth being on the back of a motorcycle; however, she was an adult, and how much could he say to her?

He took a deep breath and grabbed the buckets again, shaking his head as he walked away and towards the barn.

**XxxxxX**

* * *

After directing Daryl on where to go and driving for about a half hour, they finally pulled into the parking lot of a huge strip mall. There were close to twenty different stores and Daryl was surprised to see that something of that size even _existed_ in the small town.

After parking the bike, they began walking over towards the buildings; but Beth stopped short suddenly and spat out "shit!" while looking ahead at a group of people standing by the mall entrance doors.

"What? What's the matter?" Daryl said with narrowed eyes, as he stopped also and glanced around confused.

"It's Jimmy and his friends over there, by the doors" she said while shaking her head and discreetly pointing towards them.

"So…?" Daryl looked confused, "You don't want him to see you or somethin'?"

"No, it's not _that_" she shook her head; but her eyes became soft, "Okay, _maybe_ it is; but we got into a real big fight last night and I don't expect him to be very nice if he sees me"

Daryl had a look of disgust on his face as he glared across the parking lot at the group of guys, "He ain't gonna' do or say nothin' Beth, come on', just ignore em'"

Daryl pulled on Beths' arm and the two of them continued walking towards the entrance, Beth extreamly nervous as her feet dragged reluctantly. Once they became closer, Daryl spotted a Hispanic girl with pigtails and a cropped shirt hanging all over Jimmy. He immediately looked down at Beth, who saw the girl as well, and he could tell by her facial expression that she was either hurt or pissed off, or even both.

Just as they walked past the group, Jimmy spotted them and Daryl was sure to give him a hard cold stare before he unexpectedly wrapped his arm around Beth's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"What are you doing?" Beth whispered, very confused, while looking up at Daryl with weary eyes.

"Shh… Jus' keep walkin' Beth, you wanna' piss him off don't ya?" he said with a smirk a quick wink and Beth couldn't help but chuckle.

They walked into the mall arm and arm, and Jimmy stood with his friends, _watching_; crossing his arms and glaring until Daryl and Beth were out of his sight.

When Daryl and Beth were no longer in the view of the doors, Daryl released his arm from Beth and smirked at her, "I'm sure that did it"

She bit her lip and looked up at Daryl with a pearly smile, "I bet it did"

She felt great, and couldn't even _express_ how thankful she was for what Daryl did. Making Jimmy jealous was something she'd wanted to do for a _long_ time now, and it felt _so_ good.

"Aright, so where's this store?" Daryl said with a raised eyebrow.

Beth smiled at him, her blue eyes almost piercing, "Come on', it's this way" she said, before tilting her head in the direction of where they needed to go.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl and Beth finally arrived back at Daryl's apartment after what felt like _hours_ of walking around the stores. His feet and lower back were _killing_ him, and he made a vow to never return to the place unless he was _absolutely_ _desperate_. He was never one that really enjoyed shopping or doing _anything_ remotely involved with that category. Beth on the other hand, she was having the time of her life and Daryl honestly starting to worry that the girl was going to cause him to go broke. Every time he turned around, she was telling him how much he could use _this_, and how he should get _that_, because it would look '_cute'_. Eventually he managed to pry Beth to the registers and out of the store. He was almost instantly regretting not asking Beth if she could drive her truck, because there wasn't very much room to attach bags on his motorcycle. He managed to secure them behind Beth, but he was extremely nervous that they would hit into his back wheel and cause him and Beth to go skidding off on to the side of the road. That was the _last_ thing he needed, was for her to get hurt.

However, they managed to make it back in one piece, and after Daryl unattached the bags from the bike and him and Beth carried them into his apartment and unpacked the stuff inside them, they were both starving.

Beth sat down on the sofa and looked around, "This is actually nice… it's small; but it's comfortable. It was really nice of Dale to offer this to you"

"Yeah, it's perfect for now" Daryl said as he plopped down on the other side of the couch, his head sinking back into the cushion, "Dale's a nice guy, I'm very thankful to em'"

Suddenly Beth's stomach growled and Daryl could hear it from where he was sitting, "I'd offer you somethin' to eat; but I ain't got nothin' to cook yet"

"No, its okay" Beth said while hugging her stomach, "I just wasn't able to eat earlier, so I haven't put anything in my stomach yet; but it's okay… I'll eat when I get home"

"I'm actually hungry too though" Daryl said while placing a hand on his stomach, "you know anywhere we can order a pizza or somethin'?"

"No Daryl, really… don't order somethin' because of me" she said in protest.

"Shut up Beth" Daryl said with a smirk, "I'm sayin' I'm hungry too… so do you know a place or what?"

Beth laughed, but then shook her head yes and then proceeded to call the local pizzeria in town, placing an order for delivery.

When she finished placing the call, she rested her phone down beside her on the couch and leaned back as well. Daryl found himself looking over at Beth discreetly without her noticing. She was growing on him, and the girl that he originally thought was just a nosey chick who liked to ask a hundred questions, was actually turning out to be a really cool girl to be around.

Not to mention that she knew nothing about whom he really was, and all that he'd done. He liked it that way, that to her, he didn't have a past filled with crazy actions and bad experiences. It was like his slate was cleared when he was with her, he could be the guy he wanted to become, rather than the guy he was.

"Thanks for comin' today", Daryl cleared his throat and looked over at Beth through the corner of his eye, "I appreciate it"

Beth smiled at him and nodded, her face becoming a little embarrassed as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap, "Don't mention it… it's the least I could do, after last night"

Daryl was going to assure her that he'd already forgotten about it; but after picturing the very drunk Beth in his head again, he couldn't help but let out a laugh, "You were pretty wrecked darlin'"

Beth brought a hand to her face to cover her embarrassment, "Oh god, don't even talk about it, I was such a mess"

"That you were" Daryl said jokingly and Beth threw one of the throw pillows at him. Daryl raised his arm to block it and continued laughing, "Nah, you were cute though"

Beth blushed, as far as she could remember, she was _far_ from cute, "Whatever, let's just not talk about it anymore please". Daryl smiled but stayed silent, in efforts not to embarrass the girl anymore. "So what made you come by anyway last night? I didn't think you were gonna' show"

Daryl shrugged and let out another sarcastic chuckle, "figured your annoyin' ass wasn't gonna' stop textin' and callin' me if I didn't"

Beth laughed, crossed her arms and pursed her lips together, "Well, you're not _that_ special now Daryl, I think you _wanted_ to come, you just don't wanna' admit it"

Daryl rolled his eyes and chortled, "Always assumin' Beth"

Beth laughed but the conversation grew silent again, and Beth happened to take another look over at the things they unpacked from the bags, and spotted the pink teddy bear Daryl bought for his daughter.

"That's really cute that you got your daughter that", Beth pointed towards it, "I'm sure she's gonna' love it when she comes to see you"

Daryl cracked a small smile and stared at the bear, "Yeah, got a while before that'll happen though"

Beth's eyes creased in curiosity, "Why? You have a place now, what else do you really need to spend time with her? I'm sure she wouldn't care where you guys were as long as she was able to spend time with her daddy"

"It's not her" Daryl said in a low tone, it was obvious that he really missed her, "For one, I can't exactly put her on the back of my bike to drive all the way down here, and two, her mother ain't all that compromising when it comes to shit… I'm sure she'll find _some_ kind of reason why Sophia can't stay with me for a couple of days"

"You don't get along with her?" Beth asked, trying not to be too invasive.

"Nah, I mean we're civil and shit; but things ain't exactly peachy neither" Daryl bit the side of his thumb with his teeth, and looked over at Beth, "She's gonna' wanna' make sure my place is safe and I'm not livin' in some cardboard box or somethin'". Beth just nodded; she didn't want to say anything bad just in case it would offend Daryl in anyway. "I might take a trip back there at some point soon; jus' ta see Sophia for a couple hours or somethin', but I gotta wait till I get a couple of paychecks first"

"Well, I'm sure she knows that your doin' everything you can to see her" Beth suggested with a kind-hearted smile and Daryl nodded, avoiding eye-contact. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Daryl got up and started over towards the door, pulling out a twenty from his pocket, assuming it was the pizza delivery.

"Daryl, let me pay for it" Beth said and Daryl waved her off, ignoring her suggestion as he continued to open the door and retrieve the pizza.

Once he paid the delivery person, and closed the door he shook his head at Beth, who was holding out a twenty dollar bill.

"Put that away, I got it" he said while walking over to set the pizza box down on the small table in the kitchen area.

"Daryl just take it" Beth unexpectedly slipped the bill into Daryl's front right pocket, and Daryl stiffened for a second at her touch, "C'mon, seriously, your saving your money for Sophia remember?" Beth continued, and then pulled her hand away when she noticed his reaction, "Sorry, I-I jus' figured that was the only way to get you to take it, I didn't mean to be too intrusive". Beth backed away, feeling slightly embarrassed for causing things to get a little awkward.

Daryl swallowed and then tried to act as normal as possible, "You're so fuckin' stubborn, you know that?" he said while placing a slice of pizza onto a piece of paper towel and handing it to Beth, "Sorry, I ain't got plates yet"

Beth chuckled a little as she grabbed it from him, "Don't worry about it" she said with a grin and then looked at him with a sarcastic raised eyebrow, "And your stubborn too by the way, I ain't the only one ya know"

Daryl pursed his lips sarcastically and rolled his eyes before taking a gauging bite of his slice, pretty much eating the whole thing in two or three mouthfuls. Beth watched him with a mocking face as he went to retrieve another slice from the box. When he noticed her laughing at him, he raised an eyebrow and said "What?" with another mouthful of food.

"You eat like you haven't seen food in years" she said with a small laugh.

Daryl pulled a piece of cheese off the pizza and sardonically lowered it into his mouth, and then licked his fingers right after, "Yeah, and you eat like a bird"

Beth laughed but said nothing more; continuing to finish her slice of pizza, even if she did eat like a '_bird'_.

Daryl found himself looking at Beth again, without her noticing. She was doing something to him, something he was trying to avoid initially. He didn't want to cloud up his focus on what he wanted to do and how he wanted to rebuild his life and start fresh; but there was just _something_ about Beth that was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore. He felt _so_ comfortable around her, like he'd known the girl for years. It was a new feeling to him, something he hadn't ever quite felt before. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but he had a feeling that it _wasn't_ going to be that easy to control for much longer. Not to mention that all he'd thought about the night before was kissing her in the barn. _Obviously_ she was extremely drunk and he wasn't really sure whether or not she would have acted in the same manner while sober, but either way, it was on his mind the _entire_ night and the _whole_ morning. It was one of the reasons he texted her in the first place to come with him, because for some reason, _some reason that wasn't at all familiar to him_, he just wanted to see the girl again.

**XxxxX**

* * *

After Daryl and Beth finished their food, the two of them sat at the table for a few minutes, both extremely full and partially unwilling to even attempt to get up from their seats. Daryl slid a cigarette out of his pocket and got up to light it on the stove. Once it was lit, he leaned up against the counter and looked at Beth while taking in a drag.

"Can I bum one off of you?" Beth asked while looking at him with innocent eyes.

"I thought you're a casual smoker? Why do you always want a cigarette when you're around me?" Daryl asked while blowing the smoke from his mouth.

Beth made a stubborn face, and spat out sarcastically, "Because I can, what are you gonna' act like Maggie now, and tell me I shouldn't smoke?"

Daryl raised an eyebrow and gave a sneering smirk, "Jus' for that, you ain't gettin' one"

Beth stood up and crossed her arms, walking slowly over towards Daryl. His eyes were completely focused on her as his cigarette rested securely between his lips. Beth approached him extremely slow, until she was mere inches from him. She stared into his eyes, almost seductively for a few seconds until she unexpectedly grabbed the cigarette from his mouth and turned away laughing while taking a long drag from it.

Daryl grabbed her by her waist instantly and spun her around, "You think ya' slick huh?" he said as he attempted to grab it from her hands; but Beth held her arm out behind her while laughing as he continued to pry it from her. She continued backing up and laughing until her back hit hard against the kitchen wall, Daryl standing in front of her; not even trying to get a hold of the cigarette any longer.

Beth pulled it back to her mouth and took another long drag before blowing the smoke out, directly into Daryl's face. "I win" she mumbled and then bit her lip as Daryl's eyes were focused on hers, moving back and forth from her eyes to her lips.

Suddenly Daryl's hands gripped Beth's hips and before she even had time to react, his lips crashed onto hers, causing her stomach to do flips in every direction. Her initial reaction was to stop, but the taste of his lips and the gentle piercing of his tongue slowly slipping into her mouth left her feeling helpless.

His hands gripped her waist tighter as her lips finally began moving in motion with his, the rapid increase in breathing causing him to shiver.

Beth carefully placed her arms around Daryl's neck, the cigarette still resting between her fingers as it continued to burn itself out.

Daryl slowly lifted his right hand and placed it gently on the side of Beth's face as he continued kissing her with intense pressure. He was so attracted to her, and just the simplest touch of her skin sent goosebumps down his entire body.

Beth almost felt out of control, her entire body wanting to give into Daryl's direction; but something inside her was forcing her to pull back. She was so scared of ruining what they had, whatever it was that they had. He'd been one of the only people she'd felt comfortable around in a long time, and the fear of losing that finally gave her the strength to control herself.

Daryl paused, his eyes slowly reopening when he felt Beth's lips pause, and lose all motion.

"You alright?" Daryl said softly, searching Beth's eyes for answers.

Beth smiled at him as she licked the lingering taste of him off of her lips, "Yeah, I- I'm sorry, I just don't know if we should do this", Beth said softly, still never releasing her arms from around his neck.

"We don't have to Beth. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

Beth shook her head to stop him from talking, and then gently rested her forehead against his, "I just… I want to take things slow okay? I don't want to rush into anything" Beth said as she continued staring into Daryl's blue eyes, "I really like being around you… I just don't want to ruin that"

Daryl gave a quick nod, and swallowed hard. She was right, even if he didn't want to admit it.

They stood there for a few seconds, not saying a word until Beth unexpectedly giggled, "I think the cigarettes out"

She lowered her arms from around him and held the unlit cigarette out towards him. Daryl snickered and then grabbed it from her hand, "Don't ever take my cigarette like that again" he said sarcastically as he walked over to the sink and wet the tip of it before tossing it into the garbage.

Beth just looked at him and smiled, not even attempting to play into his false attempt to threaten her.

Daryl swiped a hand through his hair and then took a deep breath, "Alright stubborn ass, c'mon, let's get you home"

Beth laughed and then nodded in agreement, her body still overwhelmed with what had happened. Daryl walked towards the door and Beth followed, grabbing her phone and purse along the way as they both made their way out of the apartment.

**XxxxX**

* * *

_Don't forget to let me know your thoughts! :)_


	10. All These Walls I've Built

Okay - so this is _another_ 'building' chapter; but I promise you, from the next chapter on, some **_BIG_ **things are going to start occurring. Besides Daryl and Beth's relationship involving, I've got some pretty crazy things already written and planned out because,_ of course_, things can't just go _all_ smoothly - gotta keep you guys hooked someway or another ;) LOL Also, this story is almost at 100 reviews! So again, thank you guys so much for such awesome feedback & I'm glad you are enjoying the story! Keep the reviews/ ideas/ suggestions/ favorites/ follows/ etc. coming!

One more thing, I'm taking into consideration all your requests about the paternity of Sophia, and while I don't want to give away any details, let me just say... there will be a big twist involving little Sophia. I won't say exactly how or when, but it will definitely be a shocker; so rest assured :)

Okay, so on to this chapter... enjoy!

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Daryl crashed his keys down on the kitchen table and immediately walked over towards the couch, where he plummeted down and onto the cushion without even thinking about it. Glen was right when he told Daryl that things at the shop would pick up eventually, and Daryl was pretty sure that it had been one of the busiest days at the shop since he started working there. He couldn't be more thrilled that he had the entire weekend off neither. He just found out that morning, when Dale told him that they usually work every other Saturday, instead of each one. As much as he _enjoyed_ having a job, he couldn't deny being a little happy that he had two days off, especially being that he was also given his paycheck that afternoon as well. It was his second one, and it felt _extremely_ good to know that he was saving up a decent amount of money now.

Once Daryl got home and settled, the first thing he wanted to do was lay down. He was _seriously_ wiped out, and in need of a good power nap.

He stretched his arms out above him and placed them underneath his head, making himself a bit more comfortable, and allowing him eyelids to slowly close. While his body _finally_ relaxed after a hard day, his mind continued running. It was already Friday, and he hadn't heard much from Beth since he dropped her off last Sunday night. He texted her twice during the week; but she barely even responded, telling Daryl that she was swamped with assignments for college and really needed to focus on them. He knew she was in school; but something was telling him that there was more to her lack of communication with him. He was beginning to wonder if his actions the other night went too far for her, and perhaps this was her way of _kindly_ distancing herself from him. Whether or not that was actually the case, Daryl couldn't seem to stop thinking about her; it was all he'd done for the past week. He thought about her so damn much he was actually starting _to piss himself off_. He'd never allowed himself to fixate his thoughts on someone so much in his entire life… ever. But still, there was just something about her that he couldn't shake… yet he just couldn't seem to put his finger on what exactly was so _stimulating_ about her.

She had been one of the most intrusive people he'd met since arriving in Senoia, but maybe _that's_ what was so interesting to him. The fact that she called him out on his shit? The fact that she could tell that he was running from something? The fact that _even_ if he was, she _didn't_ care to be around him? He wasn't sure what it was _exactly_, but there was something about her that was different than any other person he ever met.

Just as he felt himself finally beginning to drift off, he was awakened just as fast by a knocking on the door. Daryl grunted as his eyes opened again, and he peeled himself off the couch and walked over to answer the door. When he opened it, he found Glen standing there.

"What's up?" Daryl asked in a tired voice. He had just seen Glen at least forty-five minutes prior when they left work together, and wondered why the hell he was already knocking on his door.

"Hey, sorry… just wanted to let you know that Dale is making his _famous_ beer battered fish and chips. He told me to invite you to have dinner with us, that's if you want to"

"Oh, aright. Yeah I'll come" Daryl answered. It sounded good, so what the hell? "Right now?"

"Nah, it should be ready in about an hour"

"Oh okay" Daryl stared at Glen for a couple minutes until he realized that Glen was _obviously_ waiting for him to invite him inside. He took a step back and waved his hand to motion Glen to come inside and Glen quickly entered with a smile.

"You picked up a few things, I see" Glen said as he observed the apartment, bobbing his head up and down a few times, "Not bad"

"Yeah, Beth helped me out" Daryl said "It was mostly her suggestions"

"Oh yeah, I heard" Glen said with a chuckle and Daryl raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean _you heard_?" Daryl asked immediately.

"Nah, nothing bad or anything. Maggie just told me that you guys hung out last Sunday…" Glen paused and then smirked, "…and that Beth came back _here_ for a while before going home"

"Yeah so?" Daryl pressed, wondering if Beth may have mentioned anything, as to why she seemed so distant from him.

Glen put his hands up and laughed, "I'm just saying that I heard man, that's all. Why did something happen?"

Daryl glared at him through the corner of his eyes, wondering if he really did know what happened but was just pretending not to, "Like what?"

"I don't know, I'm just askin'" Glen said shrugged but then smirked, "_C'mon_ I've seen the way you two look at each other… are you two seein' each other or something?"

"Nah" Daryl said simply but then looked at Glen curiously, "Why? Has she said anything?"

"No" Glen looked confused for a second; but then he could tell by Daryl's curiosity that something _definitely_ was going on, "You _like_ her, don't you?" Daryl shrugged and Glen smiled, "You do!"

"Doesn't matter either way" Daryl said and then bit his nail, "ain't nothin' gonna' come out of it"

"Have you _told_ her?" Glen asked.

Daryl continued biting his nail and then quietly mumbled, "Somethin' like that, haven't really talked to her since though, so I assume that's a bad sign"

"Well I haven't heard anything about _that_; but maybe it's because of her _on-again/off-again_ relationship with Jimmy. I can never keep track with whether or not those two are actually together or not anymore"

"That guy's an asshole" Daryl spat out and rolled his eyes, "I overheard him talkin' to some chick out on the porch the night of Beth and Maggie's party; but as soon as Beth walked out, he hung up and tried to act like he wasn't doing anything… he's a prick"

"_Sounds_ like Jimmy" Glen said as he shook his head, "he's a real _winner_"

"We seen em' the next day too, outside the store; hangin' on some chick like it was nothin'"

"Really? And Beth seen him too?" Glen asked.

"Yeah, I put my arm around her as we walked past; jus' ta piss him off" Daryl chuckled at the memory of Jimmy's face, "Let's jus' say, he was pretty mad"

Glen laughed, "That's awesome… so why don't you just call her dude? Ask her out or something?"

Daryl thought about it for a second; but then shook his head. He wasn't going to tell Glen about him kissing her a couple nights ago, so Glen probably wouldn't understand why; but he definitely didn't want to pressure Beth after she'd already told him she wasn't sure about them.

"Why not? What's the worst that could happen? She'd _say no_?" Glen persisted but Daryl didn't answer so he continued, "Maggie's coming over tonight, after dinner; I can tell her to bring Beth with her?"

"Nah, don't do that" Daryl shook his head, "jus' leave it alone"

"You sure? It'll be a perfect opportunity" Glen asked again; but Daryl shook his head no. "Alright; but I'm tellin' you dude, you should jus' ask her out… what do you have to lose?"

"I'll think about it" Daryl said just to get Glen to stop talking about the whole thing.

"Alright" Glen said and then made his way towards the door, "I gotta go clean up; food should be done in a little while though, I'll text you"

Daryl nodded and Glen left the apartment. Daryl took a deep breath, he wasn't sure if he should have admitted his feelings for Beth to Glen; but he almost felt like he needed to tell someone cause it was all he managed to think about.

He took a seat at the kitchen table and pulled his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through the contacts until he reached Beth's name. He stared at it for a few minutes, debating on giving her a call. He really wanted to know why it seemed like she was avoiding him. If he had made her uncomfortable in any way, he wanted her to just tell him. His finger lingered above the screen for a while; but eventually he just shook his head and placed the phone back down onto the table. He'd wait for her to reach out to him. He _never_ made himself crazy over a female ever, and he _wasn't_ about to start neither.

He shook his head at himself and then made his way into the bathroom, in efforts to jump in the shower and clear his head before Glen texted him for dinner.

**XxxxxX**

* * *

Daryl dried his hands off with the dishtowel after cleaning the last dish in the sink.

"Thank you for doing that Daryl; but really you didn't have to" Dale said from the table, leaning back in his chair lazily with one hand resting on his full stomach.

"Nah, it was the least I could do" Daryl waved his hands in protest, "and thanks for inviting me in for dinner, it was great; best meal I've had in a long time"

Dale smiled and nodded, "Anytime Daryl, you're always welcomed to join us"

"Well, I'm gonna' head outside and wait for Maggie to get here" Glen said as he stood from the table, and then looked over at Daryl, "I'll see you later"

Daryl nodded and then looked over at Dale, "I think I'm gonna' call it a night too; I'm bout' ready to crash after eating so much"

Dale laughed, "Alright, well I'll see ya in the mornin' Daryl, and thanks again for joining us"

Daryl nodded and said "Thanks for havin' me", before making his way out of the kitchen and towards the front door. When he exited the house, Glen was sitting on the front steps. Daryl walked down them and past him, but turned around when Glen started talking to him again.

"You sure you don't wanna' hang out here with Maggie and I?" Glen asked but Daryl shook his head no as he lit up a cigarette.

"Nah, I'm really tired- jus' gonna go to bed"

"Alright dude, I'll see ya tomorrow then" Glen said from the steps and Daryl nodded as he walked around the bend and towards the apartment.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl changed into a pair of sweatpants and slipped his shirt off before pulling the sofa out into a bed. He honestly couldn't wait to just crash, he was exhausted, partially due to the many weeks he spent without much sleep, and partially due to his mind that jus' _wouldn't_ stop turning. Daryl knew from the loud chugging of Maggie pickup trucks' motor running outside that she must have just gotten there. He hoped that she was either picking Glen up, or shutting the car off for a while because the sound of the engine was vibrating through the entire apartment.

Thankfully the engine finally turned off, and Daryl made himself comfortable underneath the blankets; shutting his eyes to _finally_ get some much needed sleep.

However, just as quickly as he burrowed into the blankets and closed his eyes, he was already being disturbed again by a knocking on the door. But this time, he was pissed and he was going to seriously tell Glen off. The knocking continued and Daryl aggravatingly tossed the blankets off of him and made his way to the door, pulling it open with the most annoyed face he could possibly have on.

"What Gl-" he started with an angry voice; but came to a hault when he saw Beth standing outside the door, "Beth… what are you doin' here?" he asked while clearing his throat, feeling a little bad for the way he answered the door in the first place.

"I, uh…" Beth scanned Daryl's bare skinned chest and torso, instantly feeling bad for obviously waking him up, "Sorry… I jus' needed to talk to you, and Maggie was comin' over here so I figured I'd… but your obviously… I'm sorry, I'll let you get back to sleep"

"Nah, nah Beth it's alright, really" Daryl said as he watched the girl choke over her own words, "Come in". He held the door out and waited for her to enter.

"You sure? You look tired" Beth said as she slowly approached the entrance.

"I'm fine, come on though, it's cold" Daryl said as she finally made her way inside and he closed the door behind them.

Beth held her arms uncomfortably as she looked over at Daryl with a very weary and nervous stare.

"What's goin' on? What'd Glen tell you to come here?" Daryl asked as he motioned for Beth to take a seat on the end of the pullout bed, "Sorry, I already pulled the bed out otherwise I woulda' told ya to sit on the couch"

Beth took a seat cautiously, and Daryl leaned up against the adjacent wall, facing her.

"Glen didn't ask me to come, I jus' wanted to talk to you that's all" Beth said looking up at him.

"Why didn't you jus' call or text or somethin'?" Daryl asked confused, she barely answered his texts all week, why would she all of a sudden want to show up and talk in person.

"I don't know… It's always easier to talk to people in person. You never really know a persons' reactions or tone of voice through text messages"

Daryl took a deep breath, "Alright, so what's up then? What do you wanna' talk about?"

Beth bit her lip, and Daryl was convinced that the girl was nervous about something, and most likely something bad that he didn't want to hear.

"I just… I wanted to apologize to you for the way I've been actin' lately" she looked up at Daryl with her big blue eyes and he could tell she was finding it hard to spit out exactly what she wanted to say, "It's just, I don't know Daryl… I like you… I like you a lot; but I- I'm finding it a bit difficult to want to _want_ someone that I barely even know… I mean, I _hardly_ know anything about you Daryl, besides the little bit that you decide to tell me; but then you close up your walls so fast that it leaves so many unanswered questions and that's honestly _worrisome_ to me"

Daryl swallowed hard and then looked towards the ground and away from Beth, "You don't _wanna'_ know about me Beth, trust me"

Beth stared at him with confused eyes, "But see, that's what I _mean_ Daryl… why? Why don't I _wanna'_ know about you? Is there something that I should be _seriously_ worried about?"

Daryl looked up at her with narrowed eyes, "Because you don't Beth! You think I came to this town to tell people the reason why I'm here?" he shook his head out of frustration, "I came to this town to let it all _go_… to start _fresh_; not to have you askin' me all about it, jus' so you can judge me and never look at me the same again!"

"I wouldn't judge you Daryl" Beth protested; but Daryl paced around and she could see he was becoming angrier; his wall's going up faster than she'd ever seen before.

"Where is this even comin' from Beth? We fuckin' _kissed_, I ain't never said I was in _love_ with you or some shit! Why the fuck do you need to insist on _knowing_ shit? Why are you so _god_ _damn_ stubborn?" Daryl spat out and Beth crossed her arms.

"_Because_ okay! Because I don't want to get _involved_ with someone who will jus' take off _again_ when things get too hard!" Beth controlled and calmed herself before continuing, "because I jus' can't take another guy walkin' in to my life jus' to walk right back out of it again… _that's_ why"

Daryl glared over at her, his face softening up, but his eyes still fierce, "Well then maybe it's best that we don't get involved at all then…" he muttered with a soft yet stern tone, "I shouldn't be focusin' on this shit anyway"

Beth's face dropped and Daryl could tell that he hurt her with his words; but maybe that was what's best, what he needed to do. To stop it all right then and there, before they both ended up being hurt. He needed to focus on himself, and with what it was he was trying to do with his life. It was best that he put an end to anything that could affect him from getting to where he wanted to be.

"Well, than I guess that pretty much sums it all up, now doesn't it?" Beth said with a pained tone as she stood up from her seat and rubbed her arm while searching Daryl for an answer… any answer. But Daryl just looked at her, he felt so bad; but he knew that was what needed to be done.

When Daryl failed to say anything, Beth made her way towards the apartment door and Daryl watched as she walked out, gently closing the door behind her.

Daryl turned towards the wall and punched it with all the strength he could manage. What the hell was wrong with him? Here is this amazing girl, who is just asking him to be more open with her, and he chases her away just so that he never has to show his demons to anyone. What he going to do this his entire life? Never ever let anyone in?

He walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water onto his face, there was no way he was going to be able to fall asleep now, not after _that_. He dried his face off with the small towel hanging beside him and then leaned down onto the sink, staring at himself in the reflection of the mirror.

His bruised eye from the final altercation with his father was finally gone, as were the rest of the bruises he bared on his body. He just stared at his face, taking in the image of himself without markings for once. _Why did he do this to himself? Bear the burden of his entire life on his shoulders, even though he didn't have to deal with it anymore? The bruises, the marks, they were all faded and gone… but why wasn't he able to look past them and see the cleared slate? Why was he still hiding behind the wall that never should have been there in the first place_? And in that moment something **clicked**, what the hell _was_ he doing? He really liked this girl, _why_ would he be so _stupid_ to push away the **_only_** thing that had made him a little bit happier since he finally walked away from everything he'd known? Just because she wanted to know more… just because she showed a hint of interest in _who_ he was?

Daryl stood up from the sink and hurried into the living room, grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from his duffle bag and slipping them on so fast that he was losing balance. He slid a pair of socks on, along with his shoes and then his jacket and then grabbed his phone, wallet, cigarettes, and keys off the table. He double checked his wallet and recounted his money to make sure he had enough for what he wanted to do, and then quickly ran out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

As he made his way around the bend and towards the front of Dale and Glen's house he saw Beth sitting on the steps alone, her head resting in the palm of her hand as she looked out at the darkening sky.

Daryl walked over and sat beside her, startling her for a second; but then her gaze returned back onto the sky without even acknowledging him.

"Where is Glen and Maggie?" Daryl mumbled, his eyes taking in Beth beautiful face and feeling even worse for what he'd said to her.

Beth shrugged, "Inside, watching some movie… didn't really feel like being around them"

Daryl struggled with what to say next, he had no idea how to reconcile with Beth after what had happened.

"I thought you were goin' to sleep?" Beth said, barely making eye contact with him, "Why are you out here?"

Daryl bit the side of his thumb, his tell-tale sign of nervousness, "Cause I realized that I jus' did somethin' really fuckin' dumb, and I had to do somethin' ta fix it"

Beth raised an eyebrow, "Oh really, and what's that?" she asked, as if she didn't really believe him.

"I want you to take a ride and come with me somewhere, right now" Daryl said in a low tone, looking at Beth for some kind of reaction, "but we'll be gone for a couple days"

Beth turned to face him, he face furrowed in complete confusion, "A couple of days? What are you talking about? Go with you where?"

"Just, somewhere" Daryl muttered, "You said you wanna' know more about me right?"

"Yeah but-" Beth started, but Daryl quickly interrupted.

"Well then, just trust me Beth", he held a hand out for her to grab as he stood up from the stairs, and after she looked at his hand and then back at his eyes a few times, she finally gave in to him, cracking a small smile in the process.

"Well, I'm gonna' need to get some clothes or somethin' if it's gonna' be a few days" she said as she placed her hand in his, pulling herself up from the step. Daryl gave a small smile and then pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly, as he hugged her.

Maybe this would be the best choice he'd made thus far, and maybe it wouldn't be; but either way, he had to _try_… after all, you can never really fail or succeed if you don't at least _try first_.

**XxxxX**

* * *

**Don't Forget to Review! :)**

**Until next time... Xo**


	11. My Little Hummingbird

_**Okay, so this is a really long one; but I'm hoping you will all be extremely happy with it! There will be an authors' note at the end, but for now, enjoy!**_

* * *

By the time Daryl and Beth told Maggie and Glen that they were leaving, and Daryl drove Beth home to pack a couple days' worth of clothes, it was already well into the night. By the time they had even gotten on the road, towards Daryl's intended destination it was almost midnight. The exhaustion from the entire day was swallowing him; but still, he kept pressing on. He had to do this, he had to.

Daryl drove the bike, with Beth holding on behind him for at least two hours before the dark of the night, mixed with Daryl's intensely burned out eyes started to really take a toll on him. He decided to turn off the highway at the next exit and find a motel for the two of them to get a couple hours of sleep.

After exiting the highway and following the signs to the nearest motel, they finally pulled into a parking lot only occupying just a couple of cars.

"What are we doing?" Beth asked as Daryl's bike pulled into one of the many available parking spaces.

"We're gonna' stop for a little bit, I've gotta' shut my eyes for at least a couple hours before I end up falling asleep while driving" Daryl answered while killing the engine. Beth loosened her grip around him, and maneuvered herself off of the bike, looking around at the dark parking lot. She bit her lip as she looked back at Daryl with uncertainty. "I'll get two rooms Beth, if you're uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as me; but trust me, I'm too tired to even think about doin' anything"

Beth blushed a little bit by Daryl's reference. That thought hadn't even crossed her mind, but now that he mentioned it, "It's okay" she said with a soft smile, "I trust you… but could you get a room with two beds in it?"

Daryl cracked a small smile and then chuckled at the girl's innocent way of asking, "You got it Beth… c'mon" he said as he rolled his eyes and they made their way towards the front office of the motel.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl's eyes squinted open as a beam of bright sunshine gleamed through the shabby blinds of the motel window. For a second he'd almost forgotten where he was; but it came back to him rather quickly, and he gradually turned himself around to look over at the bed that Beth slept on.

He leaned himself up on his arm as he looked around the room; his face furrowed in confusion. Beth's bed was completely made, and she was nowhere inside the room. He knew she didn't just change her mind about going with him and take off, because her bag of clothes was resting on the floor next to the bed still. However, he couldn't help but wonder _how_ the hell the girl was already up? And _so_ _early_. He felt like he could sleep the _entire_ day.

He scuffled the blankets off of him, and slowly brought himself to a sitting position, still confused as to where Beth was. He stood up from the bed and made his way over to the bathroom door of the opposite side of the room, barely even paying attention as he shielded his eyes from the piercing light shining through the window.

He pushed open the bathroom door and took a step forward before pausing to realize that he'd found Beth. She was in the shower and didn't even realize he'd opened the door, due to her low and angelic singing. Daryl's eyes widened when he realized, and he softly closed the door immediately, in efforts to make sure she didn't notice. He did however stand outside the door for a few minutes, listening to the girl sing softly while she showered. He didn't know she had such a good voice, or that she even sang at all for that matter. He found it rather sweet even if he planned on _playfully_ making fun of her for it later.

Once he heard the water shut off, he made his way back over to the bed, sitting back down to make sure she wouldn't realize he had even heard her at all.

He waited there a few minutes, assuming that the girl was going to get dressed and as soon as she finished and came out, then he could use the bathroom. But when she walked out with just a white towel wrapped around her petite body, and her blonde hair resting on top of her shoulders soaking wet, his eyes broadened at the sight of her, and as soon as Beth realized he was awake, her eyes did the same.

"Daryl, I-… sorry" she said nervously as she held onto her towel tightly while bending down to retrieve an outfit from her bag, "I thought you'd still be sleeping, I'm sorry"

"It's alright Beth, you didn't know" Daryl responded while bringing a hand up to cover his eyes, "I'm not looking, I promise" Beth looked over at him for a second, and then laughed when she saw his hand covering his eyes. "It's tempting though, I'll admit" he said playfully as he jokingly opened extended his pointer and middle finger apart, sneaking a peak.

Beth looked over at him and laughed at his playfulness, "Hey! Stop that!" she yelled out with a smile as she grabbed her clothes and walked back into the bathroom to get dressed, shouting jokingly from behind the door, "You said you promise, you jerk!"

Daryl chuckled without responding to her, and when she returned into the room, this time fully dressed, she threw the damp towel at him while laughing, "Jerk… I didn't know you were awake"

Daryl laughed and then threw the towel onto the bed beside him, "You're singing woke me up" he lied as he taunted her playfully, "what' ya think this is, the Opera house?" he said with a smirk as he got up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Beth's eyes widened at his taunting embarrassed that he'd actually heard her. Sometimes she didn't even realize she was singing while showering, it had become so much of habit that she would just start doing it without even thinking.

After Daryl finished using the bathroom and returned back into the room, he gave Beth a mocking smirk, before leaning down to slip his boots on his feet.

"You really heard me singing in there?" Beth asked with an embarrassed tone, and Daryl chuckled.

"Yup" he said sarcastically, "everyone in the motel probably did"

"You're such a liar" Beth said as a laugh busted from her mouth, "I wasn't that loud"

Daryl laughed but after tying the laces of his boots he looked over at Beth and said "C'mon ya little humming bird, we gotta' get back on the road" jokingly.

Beth smirked and gave a _'haha,_ _very funny'_ face before running her brush through her damp hair and throwing it into her bag. "You still haven't told me where we're goin' ya' know" she said while zipping the bag closed and throwing it on her back.

"You'll see, Daryl said with a smirk as he grabbed his things and the two of them made their way out the room.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl and Beth drove for about another hour before they finally arrived to the unknown destination. As Daryl slowed down and came to a stop in front of an empty lot, containing nothing but piles of burnt wood and shingles, Beth looked around confused, wondering why he'd even stopped in the first place.

Daryl shut the motor off and they both got off the bike, Beth still completely lost and confused.

"What is this?" she said softly as she watched Daryl's face begin to pain at the sight.

"This uh…" he cleared his throat as he looked at what was left of his childhood home, the place he'd considered a torture chamber his entire life, "This was where I grew up"

Beth's eyebrows creased as her confused face examined the sight in front of her, "This was where you used to live? What happened? Was there some sort of fire or somethin'?"

Daryl gave a quick nod as he started walking through the dirt and ash that laid over his once front yard. The ground was still damp, most likely water trapped in the soil from the water used to put the fire out. As he walked through the pile of debris, Beth followed behind him, her eyes searching everywhere as she took in the gloomy sight.

They walked around it for a while silently, until Daryl stumbled upon the only thing still standing, the brick steps that used to be outside the back door. He took a seat on them and Beth sat beside him, unsure of what to say to him. She could tell by his sudden quietness and his pained expression that either something terrible had happened or it was really hard for him to come back there.

After letting the silence linger for a while, Beth finally spoke; her voice soft, trying not to cause Daryl to close up for any reason, "Why did you want to show me this?"

Daryl looked over at her, his eyes almost telling a story with how deeply they seemed to be burdened by the sights around them, "Because, you wanna' know why I left and ended up in Senoia right?" Beth nodded and Daryl continued, "well… this is it" he extended his arm out, motioning to the piles of ash around them, "all of this… before it burned down… it was just as bad as what you're seein' now Beth"

Beth looked around again, still confused, "I don't know what you're trying to tell me Daryl" she mumbled with a gentle, yet puzzled tone.

Daryl cleared his throat and then swallowed hard, trying to figure out a way to put it all into words, "This house, the house I grew up in Beth… it burned down the night I left…" he looked over at her as her eyes were focused on his, urging him to continue, "I, I let it burn… I jus' walked out and let it burn"

Beth was completely engrossed in what he was telling her, and her eyes widened in reaction, "But why? Why did you let it burn?"

Daryl looked away from her, unsure if he was really prepared for her reaction of what was coming next, "Because my father was inside it… drunk… sleepin'… passed out on the couch. He'd jus' came home and started comin' at me, like he'd always done; but that night was different… I couldn't take it no more, somethin' snapped. He… he came after me, gave me a busted eye, hit me upside the head, and then kicked me at least three or four times while I was on the floor. I let him do it, and I didn't fight back, jus' cause I wanted him to get outta' my room, and leave me alone… so it would be over, but then after he finally left my room, and I waited a while, I decided that was it… I was gonna' take off and jus' leave, so I didn't have to deal with his abuse and his drunken' escapades anymore… so I packed a bag of stuff and I went to do jus' that… but then as I walked into the living room, I saw him lying there… lying there like a big drunk piece of shit….. there was smoke comin' from the kitchen… he'd left a dish towel next to a pot of noodles that was boiling over and the flame caught the towel on fire… I almost put it out… I almost did; but then I seen his wallet on the table, and I jus' thought about all the shit he'd done to me my entire life… all the shit he did to my mother before she died, all the pain he'd put us through…" Daryl started to choke up on his words, and Beth couldn't help but let a few tears fall from her eyes as she grabbed a hold of Daryl's hand, holding it tightly in hers, as he tried to continue, "So, I made a choice… I made a choice to leave him there… to let the fire burn on… and I left…. I watched it from the bottom of the block; I watched it completely go up in flames, with him inside it… I… I killed-"

Beth quickly stopped him, placing a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking. "You didn't" she insisted, tears rolling down her cheek "Don't do that Daryl, don't do that to yourself okay? You didn't kill him… he killed himself… he killed himself for what he'd done to you all those years… you can't blame yourself Daryl, you can't… I won't let you"

Daryl sat in silence, the painful memories flooding his entire mind, "I jus' couldn't take it anymore Beth, I couldn't deal with it anymore" he muttered out, tears beginning to swell in his eyes.

Beth got up and leaned down in front of him, placing her hands gently on both of his cheeks, forcing him to look her in the eyes, "It's okay Daryl… it's okay" she demanded to him, trying to control her own emotions, "listen to me… it's okay", she tried hard to keep her eyes focused on his, but as soon as a tear fell from his eyes, she pulled him in towards her, wrapping her arms around him as she held and hugged him tightly.

Her heart was breaking for him, and she couldn't even wrap her head around everything that he'd been through. She just held him tightly, his head resting on her shoulder as his emotions finally let loose. She'd never felt closer to him than she'd felt in that very moment. Just the fact that he trusted in her enough to tell her his darkest and probably most painful secrets was overwhelming her entirely. For some reason, it killed her that he was in pain… it killed her that he had to live through so much pain.

Daryl finally lifted his head from Beth's shoulders, resting his forehead gently against hers as she wiped the dampness off of his tear-stained cheeks with her thumbs. His eyes stared straight into hers as the two of them sat in silence for a few minutes. He thought for sure that she would have reacted completely different, that she would of thought he was some kind of monster for doing what he'd done; but she didn't… and he was really grateful that she didn't as well.

"Thanks for not judging me Beth" he said softly, still looking into her eyes, "I never thought I'd be able to come back here again… but I'm glad it was with you"

Beth gave a smile as she caressed Daryl face with her fingertips, "I'm glad that you brought me Daryl… and I would never judge you, I promise"

Daryl smiled and then placed his hand behind her neck, pulling her towards him as he kissed her lips softly. He couldn't explain the emotions running through him at that moment, but it was definitely something he'd never felt before. He'd never felt so close to someone in his entire life, and he had to admit that it was one of the scariest, yet one of the best feelings ever.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl and Beth stayed at the burn site of Daryl's old home for a little while longer, before eventually leaving. They drove around for a while and Daryl showed her his old schools and the places he'd hung out as kid. He'd never opened up and presented so much of his life to someone in a mere 24 hours; but today definitely took the cake for him. Beth couldn't be more thrilled either; she found it fascinating to learn all of Daryl's roots and to see everything that built him into who he was.

Who knew that in a matter of weeks, she would have come to know Daryl on such a personal level, and by his own will even? When she'd first met him, he was the most hard-surfaced, closed up, enigmatic person, and she would have laughed in anyone's face if they would have told her then, that she'd be there, in his hometown with him in just a couple of weeks.

After driving for a couple of hours, they decided to grab something to eat at one of Daryl's favorite pizzerias in town. When they arrived, they made their way to the counter, where Daryl was greeted by an old friend who was working there.

"Dixon?" the muscular built man with red hair and a curl-tailed mustache said questionably, taking a good look at him, "Oh shit! What's up brother? Long time no see" the man greeted him once realizing who he was.

"Abraham, how's it goin' man?" Daryl said as he gave the man a hearty and welcoming handshake, "how's everything?"

"Good, everything's good man… I jus' got back a couple days ago. I asked around about you; but no one has known where you been, said you skipped town or somethin'"

"Yeah, I moved man, had to get out of this town… it was time for a change" Daryl said simply.

"I hear that brother" Abraham said, and then looked over at Beth who was standing next to Daryl observing her surroundings, "Name is Abraham Ford ma'am" he said, as he extended a hand out for Beth to shake, which she eventually reciprocated with a smile.

"Nice ta' meet you Abraham, I'm Beth"

Abraham smiled and then raised a eyebrow at Daryl, telepathically telling him that he'd hit the jackpot with the blonde, and Daryl grinned slightly smuggish. Beth didn't notice though, she was too busy looking at the black and white photos that hung on the pizzeria walls. There were a ton of them everywhere, of all different people. She assumed it must have been people from the town over the years.

"So what can I get you two?" Abraham asked.

"Jus' four slices" Daryl stated while handing the money to him; but Abraham refused to take it.

"It's on me brother… don't worry about it"

"Nah, jus' take it man" Daryl insisted but Abraham wouldn't budge, shaking his head.

Daryl reluctantly gave in, but he was truly uncomfortable when people offered things to him for free, "Thanks man, I appreciate it"

Abraham nodded, and then disappeared into the back to fix up their order.

Daryl turned to Beth, "Hey, why don't you go grab a seat for us? I'm gonna make a quick phone call outside real quick alright?"

Beth nodded and walked over, curious as to who Daryl would be calling, but nonetheless, did as he asked.

Daryl waited for Beth to take a seat at a table and then made his way out the doors, reaching for his phone in the process.

When he got outside, he quickly lit up a cigarette and then called Carol, hoping she'd answer her phone. He waited as the phone rang, eventually her voice answering on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hey Carol, it's me" Daryl said; taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Yeah, I know. I saw your name, what's up?"

"Nothin', listen… I'm in town; stayin' at the motor inn, but only for a day. I leave tomorrow mornin' and I wanted to know if I can see Sophia today? Jus' for a couple hours"

"Wait what? You're here?" she repeated back confused, "When did you get here?"

"This mornin'; but I had to do somethin' first"

"Oh, well I'm sure she'll be happy to see you" Carol said and a weight of relief lifted off his shoulders, "What time?"

"I was thinkin' in about an hour or so. I'll come get her, and I'll bring her down to the playground for a little while"

"Alright you can take her" Carol said with a loud breath, "So you came back here alone?"

"Nah, with someone" Daryl answered

"With someone?" Carol asked with interest, "An important _someone_? Like a girlfriend _someone_?"

"I don't know, somethin' like that I guess" Daryl answered. If there was one really good thing about his and Carol's co-parenting, it was that he never really had to worry about baby mama drama or anything like that. The two of them had accepted that there was nothing between them a long long time ago. Neither one of them had any kind of feelings for eachother in anyway.

"Well, I hope it works out, for your sake" Carol chuckled, "You need a woman in your life"

Daryl rolled his eyes, "Aright well I'll be there to get Sophia in about an hour then"

"Alright" Carol answered, "but be sure to bring your lady friend with ya', I want to meet this special someone" she said with a laugh.

"Bye Carol" Daryl said as he shook his head and laughed, eventually hanging up the phone and placing it back into his pocket.

He couldn't be any more content. He would finally see his little girl after what felt like forever. And to top it off, he would be able to introduce her to Beth, which made him even happier. He never would have thought about introducing his daughter to a woman ever before, but there was something completely different about Beth, something that made him want to have her meet Sophia. He knew Sophia would love her, and that made him even more comfortable doing it as well.

This weekend wasn't turning out half as bad as he thought it would have. And with that, he chucked the last of his cigarette and walked back inside the pizzeria, taking a seat next to Beth at the table while they waited for their food.

**XxxxxX**

* * *

As the two of them entered the motel room, and placed their things onto the floor, Beth took a seat on one of the beds, letting herself fall back until her head hit the comfortable mattress.

"Ugh, I'm seriously wiped out" she exhaled, "it's been such a long day"

Daryl pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking the time and realizing that they needed to drop their things off quickly and head to Carol's to get Sophia. It was almost an hour since he'd spoken to Carol, and he wanted to make sure he showed up when he said he would.

"Don't get too comfortable Beth, I've got one more thing I want to do with you"

"What do you mean?" Beth sat up, her face confused, "there's more?"

"I got someone I want you to meet" Daryl looked back over at the blonde, her face even more puzzled, "My daughter" he said, hoping she'd have a good reaction.

Beth's eyes widened, "You're daughter?" she repeated in question, "Daryl, are you sure? You don't have to do that… I know that's gotta' be a big deal, somethin' like that"

Daryl smirked and walked over to Beth, eventually leaning over her and causing her to fall back against the mattress again. He held himself above her, looking directly into her eyes, "You're a big deal Beth" he said as he lowered his face onto hers, kissing her lips gently and then tracing his mouth across her cheekbone and towards her ear as he whispered, "I want you to meet her. Trust me, I'm sure"

Beth shuddered as he gently tugged at the lobe of her ear with his teeth, playfully letting out a growl before quickly picking himself back up and grabbing her hand to pull her back up to a sitting position.

Beth bit her lip as Daryl smirked at her expression, her eyes wide as she looked at him with utter desire.

"Hmm, so now I know what turns you on" he said with a smug grin, "I'll have to remember that"

Beth rolled her eyes at his cockiness, "You don't know nothin'… _Dixon_"

Daryl raised an eyebrow, and then shook his head at her, "C'mon stubborn ass, we've gotta' go" he said with a chuckle as he extended his hand out, pulling her up and leading her towards the door.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl pulled the bike to a stop in front of a small two story house. Beth couldn't help it as the nerves in her stomach bubbled inside. She was nervous about meeting Sophia, but she was also nervous about meeting her mother as well. Daryl assured her that they may not always get along, but if there was one thing they didn't argue over, it was significant others. There was absolutely nothing between him and Carol, and really, there never was, besides one drunk night and a very short fake relationship that they tried to have for Sophia's sake. But when it all boiled down to it, they would've never worked out. The feelings weren't there, there was no real interest in each other, ever.

However, Beth still couldn't stop herself from worrying. This was a big moment for her and Daryl, and she honestly couldn't even wrap her head around the fact that it was even happening at all.

"You alright?" Daryl asked as they made their way up the walkway; noticing Beth's uneasy expression.

"I feel like I'm gonna' puke, I'm so nervous" Beth said before biting her lip.

Daryl smiled at her and then slipped his hand inside hers, perfectly sliding each finger between hers, "Don't be. She's gonna' love you"

Beth tried to smile back at him, but nothing he said was going to stop the jitters inside of her.

Daryl gave a hard knock on the door with his free hand, and the two waited until a thin man with dirty blond hair, and a scruffy beard answered the door, with a friendly smile.

"Hey, Daryl" the man said, as he opened the door and shook his hand, "she's comin', she's jus' gettin' her shoes on"

"Thanks" Daryl said with a nod, "How's everything goin' Axel?"

"Good, things are good. Same shit, different day, you follow me?" he responded and Daryl shook his head in agreement.

"This is Beth by the way" Daryl motioned towards her and Beth gave a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you Beth"

Just after Axel shook his hand, a skinny woman with short hair walked over to the door, along with a little blonde girl, who was gleaming with excitement.

As soon as the girl saw Daryl, she bolted towards him, and Daryl released his grip from Beth's hand as he grabbed the girl and picked her up, hugging her tightly.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed as she fell into her fathers' arms.

"Hey baby girl" Daryl said, "I've missed you"

Beth couldn't help the smile that formed on her face, seeing Daryl holding his daughter and becoming so happy, made her heart melt.

"Hello" Carol interrupted Beth's gaze, "I'm Carol, Sophia's mother", she said as she extended a hand towards Beth.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Beth said as she shook the womans' hand, "I'm Beth, it's nice to finally meet you"

Carol gave a welcoming smile, "And you as well" she then turned towards Axel and asked, "I assume my boyfriend has introduced himself already?"

"Yes" Beth smiled, feeling a bit of relief to find out that Axel was actually Carol's significant other. That made her feel a little bit more comfortable, that was for sure.

Daryl finally released his grip from Sophia, and then kneeled down to her height, "Sophia, I want you to meet Beth" he said to the girl and she looked up at Beth with a smile, "She's gonna' come with us to the park, okay?"

Sophia nodded, "Okay"

Beth smiled at the girl, "It's nice to meet you Sophia. Your Daddy has told me so much about you"

"Like how much he missed me?" the girl asked innocently and Beth chuckled at her pleasantness.

"Yup, he's missed you very much" Beth responded and the little girl blushed.

"Alright, we're gonna' walk over to the park then" Daryl said to Carol, "I'm gonna' leave my bike out front, and I'll bring Sophia back in a couple of hours"

"Okay" Carol nodded and then looked down at her daughter, "I'll see you in a couple hours sweety, have fun with your Daddy"

"I will" Sophia said with a bright grin as she held Daryls' hand, and the three began to walk down the walkway.

**XxxxxX**

* * *

Beth took a seat on one of the swings in the park, as she rocked back and forth slowly; admiring the view of Daryl pushing his daughter on one of the swings next to her. Daryl conversated with Sophia, asking her about school, and all the things she had done since he last saw her. Beth could tell that he was relieved to finally see her again, to finally be able to spend some much needed time with her.

She could tell by the way he'd spoken about Sophia that he was a great Dad; but, actually seeing it in person, the way he interacted with her, just confirmed it all. Beth admired him for his strength, and for being such a good father to his daughter, despite all the heartache he had to endure from his own.

"Beth?" Sophia looked over with innocent eyes, "Can you push me now?"

Beth looked at Daryl for confirmation, she didn't want to interrupt his time with her; but after he gave her a approving nod, she smiled and stood up from her swing, "Sure, I'll push you"

Daryl took a step back and leaned against the small metal fence behind them as he watched Beth take over. Sophia quickly started up conversation with her, she'd always been a social butterfly, and Daryl watched with contentment as the two slowly created a friendship.

It was amazing what this weekend had done to him so far. He'd never thought that his last minute decision to come back there would have been a step in the right direction. All he knew was that he didn't want to push away the one thing that he'd actually enjoyed having in his life; but he never in his wildest dreams would have thought that it would have been one of the best choices he'd ever made.

It was obvious that there was something about Beth that he couldn't explain, something about her that intrigued him from the first time he'd met her; but now he knew for sure that he didn't want to let her go. What was, at first, an over intrusive girl that he'd known nothing about, had become someone that he wanted to know everything and more about. He'd never connected with anyone the way he'd connected with her in such a short time, and he was beginning to wonder if his ending up in Senoia, was fate. Fate for him to find her, fate for him to finally find the person that could possibly steal his heart right from under him.

He'd never been one to confront feelings head on, or even show emotion for that matter; but, Beth made him feel like a whole different person. A person who didn't have to keep running from everything that ever hurt him before, a person that didn't have to lock everything away. She made him want to be better, she made him want to start new and create a life that wasn't burdened by his horrible life any longer. She was something else… something that he wasn't about to let go of, ever.

**XxxxX**

* * *

It had been close to two hours since they'd arrived at the park, and Daryl could see from the darkening of the clouds and the gloomy sunset, that it was only a matter of time before a storm would roll in. Even though he didn't want his time with Sophia to end, he knew that he needed to get her back home before they were caught in the middle of a downpour.

"Hey Beth!" Daryl called out, as Beth was chasing after Sophia; the two of them laughing hysterically, "I think it's gonna' rain… we should head back"

"Oh man!" Sophia pouted, "already?"

Daryl laughed as the two of them walked towards him, "Yeah, baby girl. It's gonna' rain and I've gotta' get you back home to your momma"

Sophia pouted and Beth put an arm around the girl. In the past two hours, Sophia had completely warmed up to her, and just as Daryl predicted, she absolutely loved Beth.

"Will I see you again tomorrow Daddy?" Sophia asked with big innocent eyes.

Daryl shut his eyes momentarily as a wave of guilt poured off of him. Beth could tell he didn't want to have to tell Sophia that he was leaving again, so she decided to step in, and answer for him.

"He won't be able to see you tomorrow Sophia, but very, very soon okay? I promise" Beth said as she slouched down to meet the girls height, "You'll come visit him at his house and he'll show you all the fun places there are in town"

"Will you be there too Beth?" Sophia asked as her face cheered up a little bit.

Beth looked at Daryl and then smiled before looking back towards Sophia, "I will. I will be there too"

"Yay!" the girl exclaimed and Daryl looked at Beth with a thankful grin.

"Alright, c'mon Sophia, let's head back" Daryl said as he held his hand out and Sophia held on.

"Okay" she said, as the three of them began walking back.

**XxxxX**

* * *

After dropping Sophia off back home, and Daryl and Beth hurrying to get back to the motel before the downpour, they finally pulled into the parking lot; but unfortunately the rain caught up to them before arriving. It was pouring out, and thunder and lightning cracked across the darkened skies, as the two of them ran towards the motel room door, their entire bodies drenched.

Daryl fought to pull the key from his soaked jeans, and Beth couldn't hold back her laughter as they struggled to get out of the rain.

"Hurry!" she demanded while laughing uncontrollably, her hands failing to shield the rain.

When he finally got the key in the door, they both rushed inside; the two of them laughing hysterically as they stood there completely saturated.

"That was too funny" Beth said between laughs, and Daryl couldn't help but join in. They were both completely out of breath from the mad rush to get back, and there was nothing left to do but find amusement in it all.

"It was your fault" Daryl joked playfully, "conversating with Carol forever… I told you we were gonna' get rained on, I seen it comin'"

"Oh so what" Beth laughed, "it was exciting" she said as she finally caught her breath.

Daryl's laughing eased as he looked at Beth; the moonlight from the window, perfectly lighting up the features of her face as she smiled.

Her hair was completely drenched, and the water was dripping all over her face. Daryl was captivated though, she'd never looked more beautiful to him.

Beth became silent, and besides the rain tapping on the window, all they could hear was their heavy breathing.

Daryl walked towards her, stopping mere inches from her face as he looked into her deep blue eyes.

"You're somethin' else Beth, ya' know that?" he said in a soft whisper, as his thumb slid across her bottom lip, wiping away the rain water resting on them.

Beth's eyes traveled back and forth from Daryl's lips to his eyes, as she tried to swipe his wet hair from his cheek, uncovering the wholesome structures of his face.

Beth fell into Daryl's gaze as her hands slid from his forehead towards his jawline; pulling his face closer to hers; never removing her eyes from his direction.

Daryl swept his fingers across her cheek until his they intertwined into the sides of Beth's hair and his lips finally met hers with a permissive and effortless kiss.

Beth's body quivered at the plea to have Daryl seize her entirely; running her fingers down the outline of his neck until her grip steadied and then strengthened at the contours of his well-formed shoulders.

The hunger of their kiss rose rapidly, and Beth's teeth grazed Daryl's bottom lip with yearning as their breathing grew heavier. She wanted him entirely, and this time she was sure of it.

Her tongue encircled around his as her hands slowly crept down his chest, eventually reaching the bottom of his wet shirt, and slipping her fingers underneath to feel the outlines of his bare stomach.

Daryl could feel his body heating up, as Beth's hand slowly slithered up his chest; eventually pulling his shirt up and quickly over his head.

Daryl lifted his arms as Beth pulled it off completely, letting it fall to the floor next to him, and immediately returning them to the bottom of her shirt, as he did the same to hers.

"You're sure about this Beth?" Daryl whispered as he gently kissed the traces of her chin.

"I've never been surer" she breathed back, the end of the sentence coming out as more of a whimper than anything else. Her voice sent chills down Daryl's spine, as his lust intensified by her confirmation.

He clutched a hold of her back firmly and his fingers swiftly maneuvered open the clasp of her bra as he seductively nibbled on the crease of her neck, his teeth grazing her collar bone every few seconds, causing Beth to release a satisfying drone.

Daryl slid the straps of her bra down her arms, eventually tossing it to the ground as he paused for a second to take in the view of her.

"You're fuckin' amazing Beth" he said as his hands glided up the curves of her hips and stomach, eventually lingering around her breasts until his fingers finally made contact with her hardened nipples.

Beth bit her lip hard, and hummed at the touch of Daryl's fingers slowly encircling around them as he leaned back in slowly, trailing his tongue around the middle of her chest, and eventually ending it in the center of her nipple, gently licking it as he released his hands from her.

Beth groaned in pleasure as her hands found their way to the button of his pants and swiftly began unfastening them without even hesitating.

Daryl traveled his tongue back up to her mouth, eventually making contact with hers again, this time with more craving than ever, as his hands cupped the top of Beth's thighs and shimmied her up until her legs wrapped firmly around him.

He held her tightly and made his way towards the bed, eventually resting her down on top of it, and losing complete control of his hands and they excitedly traveled every single crease of her body until they met the clasp of her jeans. He forcefully unbuttoned them, and ripped them off of her, tossing them in some unknown spot behind him.

He leaned down and began softly kissing the formed outlines of her stomach, sneaking the tip of his tongue out every so often as he took in the sweet taste of her skin.

Beth's head drew back, and a loud moan escaped her mouth as Daryl's tongue grew closer to her burning center. She was on _fire_, and as Daryl slipped one finger along the edges of her laced panties, she could feel herself moistening by the second.

He gently slid her panties down her legs, until they were removed completely; never once letting his lips escape her skin. He gently spread Beth's legs open a little wider, allowing himself to completely trail her burning opening with his tongue.

Beth's back arched as her body shivered from Daryl's teasing. She wanted him to touch her more than anything.

Daryl's tongue gently slid across her clit, causing Beth's legs to jolt in reaction. He slowly slid it up and down as he snuck a couple peeks of Beth's face as she trembled.

Her reaction was making him hotter by the second, and as his tongue flicked the tip of her clit even faster, he took it upon himself to remove his jeans and underwear in the process. Once he managed to slide them off completely, he wanted more than anything to be inside her; but not before he'd make her reach a satisfying peek first.

He roughly slid two fingers inside her as he continued sucking on her clit and watching her body shake. He moved his fingers back and forth, just enough to cause her breathing to increase as she tried to fight back her climax.

"C'mon Beth, cum for me" Daryl demanded as he could feel the walls of her channel tighten around his thrusting fingers.

"I- I..." Beth started, but ended in a satisfying moan as her body reached its ultimate climax and her fingers firmly grasped the bed sheets beside her as she came into his mouth.

"There we go" Daryl said with a smug grin as he gave one last lick and then traveled his tongue back up her stomach, eventually reconnecting with her lips; gently kissing them and allowing her to taste her own sweet release.

Beth cowered at his lips, and she forcefully arched her back upward, pressing her soaked center onto him.

Daryl bit clamped down hard on the nub of her ear as he felt Beth slide her hand inbetween them, eventually grabbing a hold of his length, and slowly cupping her hand around it as she slid it around her wet opening. Daryl tried to hold back his anticipation as long as he could; but all of a sudden her removed Beth's hands from him and pinned them up above her head, firmly holding them down as he forcefully slid inside of her.

She let out a massive drawl, as Daryl filled her completely, still holding her arms firmly above her as he rapidly stroked inside of her.

Beth's legs wrapped around him securely as she began thrusting her waist in motion with his, causing him to ram the inside of her, as his breathing turned into heavy panting above her.

He dropped his head down to her chest and placed his mouth around her entire breast, sucking it and biting hard on her nipple, as he continued thrusting back and forth; feeling his rising temperature traveling through him.

He finally released Beth's arms, and she placed them on his back, pressing her nails into his skin, making him to react even stronger.

His thrusting intensified as he could feel himself reaching his final release. Beth's picked his head up, causing him to look at her, "I want you to cum" she said in between rapid breaths, "Cum inside of me Daryl"

Her asking only intensified his release as he finally reached his climax, and he delivered a loud moan into her mouth. Beth could feel him pulsating inside her, as he filled his release into her.

Daryl finally collapsed on top of her, his body still trembling as their sweaty bodies conformed into each other's.

Beth softly kissed the top of his forehead, as Daryl rested his head against her chest, trying to calm his body from the overwhelming satisfaction.

They laid there in silence for a few minutes, until their breathing finally returned to normal. Daryl slowly slipped himself out of Beth, and laid beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her over to him.

"That was unbelievable" he said with a small chuckle as he looked down at Beth, who was resting her head softly on his chest.

"It was" she agreed, and Daryl lifted her chin up, to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

He looked at her for a few seconds, gazing at the beauty of her blue eyes, and completely taking in the view of her amazing bared body.

"You are gorgeous Beth" he whispered, and Beth smiled, kissing him softly again.

"I'm pretty crazy over you, you know that Mr. Dixon?" she said with a playful tone, but a sincere voice.

Daryl laughed; but again became quiet as his eyes fell into Beth's again; "Same here, my little humming bird" he said, and then followed with a small laugh as he increased his grip around her and took in the serene moment.

It may have been one _wild_ weekend, that he'd never imagined would have happened; but one thing was for sure… he wasn't letting this girl go… that was it… he was absolutely and completely _crazy_ over her.

**XxxxX**

* * *

**Authors' Note: Okay, sooooooo? I am DYING to know your reactions on this chapter, so please let me know your thoughts! I was so excited writing this chapter, that's how it ended up being so long, because I just couldn't stop writing! Haha!**

**Also, this story is now over 100 reviews! So, seriously - Thank you guys so much for all the support! This is my first fic so I never would have expected for it to take off as much as it did! So thank you! And to all the new readers, thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your thoughts as you catch up to the current chapters!**

**Alright guys, so until next time... Xoxo**

**&&& Don't forget to review! :)**


	12. Jus' When We Thought Things Were Perfect

**_"_****_Thinkin' about ya"_**

Daryl quickly typed a text message to Beth, while walking over towards a jumper cable sitting on the garage floor. It was mid-Monday morning and even though the shop was pretty busy, he couldn't get the past weekend out of his mind. It was the best two-day's he'd had in a long, long time.

"Hey Daryl, can you grab that wrench too?" Glen shouted over to him, and Daryl quickly slipped his phone back into his pocket and grabbed both the cable and the wrench, eventually making his way back over towards the car he and Glen were currently working on. "So, you haven't said anything all morning… you know, about you and Beth's little weekend getaway", Glen asked, his eyebrows shifting up and down as he insinuated that there was much to tell.

"There's nothing to say" Daryl said blatantly, not giving any reaction to Glen's guesswork.

Glen rolled his eyes, "_Nothing_ to say? C'mon dude, did you talk to her about what you told me? Are you guys seeing each other or something now?"

Daryl continued working under the hood of the car, eventually muttering back in response, "Yeah, we talked… and I don't know, I guess were seein' eachother, if that's what you wanna' call it"

"Oh shit! For real?" a smile appeared across Glen's face and his eyes lit up, he was truly happy to hear Daryl's answer, "That's awesome dude, I'm happy for you guys"

Daryl nodded, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. He never really knew how to react when people made comments like that, because it didn't happen very often. Suddenly Daryl's phone buzzed and he dipped his oil stained hands into his pocket to retrieve it, finding a text from Beth across the screen,

**_"_****_Thinkin' about you too… see you tonight?" _**

A small grin cracked across Daryl's face, and Glen immediately noticed, "That's her, ain't it?" he asked, poking at him for his expression; but Daryl ignored him, and sent a text back to Beth,

**_"_****_Yes. Come to my place at 6, hummingbird :)"_**

"Hello?" Glen waved his hands to get Daryl's attention.

"What?" Daryl grunted as he placed his phone back into his pocket, "Yeah, it's her alright? Happy?"

"Ha! That is so awesome dude… we should totally go on a double date, you, me, Maggie, and Beth. It'll be fun"

Daryl massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to hold back a laugh, "Yeah we'll see… c'mon, we need to finish this shit" he said as he bent down towards the engine, "I gotta' get out of here on time tonight"

"Got it" Glen said with a sarcastic smile, knowing that Daryl wanted to leave on time so he could see Beth.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl set his keys down on his kitchen table, undressing himself as he did so. He needed to jump in a shower and clean the oil stains off of him before Beth arrived, and he hadn't had much time left to do so. After leaving the shop, he quickly ran to the nearest super market to pick up something for the two of them to eat, being that he didn't have much of anything at his apartment. He basically had zero cooking skills though, and so the only thing he'd ever been able to make well enough for someone to actually consume, was breakfast. He wasn't sure Beth would enjoy eggs, bacon and croissants for dinner; but he took his chances, cause he knew if he even attempted anything else it might have turned out to be a _disaster_.

After making his way into the bathroom and taking no more than a ten minute shower, he returned to the living area, quickly dressing himself and drying out his shaggy hair with the towel. It was already 5:30 and Beth would be there soon, so he figured he'd start cooking the food on a low flame so I'd be almost finished by the time she arrived.

After setting the bacon in a frying pan on the stove and placing the croissants in the oven, his phone started going off on the table. Expecting it to be Beth, he quickly wiped his hands and jogged towards it; but it wasn't it Beth, it was Carol. After a few seconds of wondering why she'd be calling him, he picked up, assuming it must be something involving Sophia.

"Hello?" Daryl answered.

"Hey Daryl, it's me" she said plainly.

"Yeah I know Carol, what's up? Is Sophia okay?"

"Oh, yeah- no Sophia's fine. Listen I've gotta' talk to you, do you have a minute? It's important"

Daryl glanced over at the time, it was 5:45; but nonetheless, she said it was important.

"Yeah, I've got time. What's goin' on?" he said,

"Okay, so a woman named Jacqui Prescott came knockin' on the door this morning, she said she was an associate from some law firm here in town, and she was askin' for you, and whether or not I know about your whereabouts"

Daryl's eyes narrowed, "And, what did you say?"

"Well I told her I didn't know where you were; but she then asked to sit down and talk with me instead. Somehow she knew about Sophia being our daughter… Anyway, so we sat down and she pulled out this big ol' stack of paperwork. She said your father had an estate of some sort, and in his will everything was left to you"

Daryl found himself lowering onto the seat next to the table, trying to process exactly what Carol was telling him.

"What estate? What the fuck could he have had? And why on earth would he leave it to me? The fuckin' guy hated my guts"

"I don't know Daryl; but, it's a substantial amount of money… like I'm talkin' half a million dollars"

"What?!" Daryl said in exasperation, "There's no fuckin' way"

"But there is" Carol said plainly, "So, she said that it was left in your name, and that your brother is the beneficiary; but she doesn't know his whereabouts either"

"Nobody fuckin' does… he could be rotting dead for all anyone knows"

"I know, I told her that, and see that's the thing…" she hesitated for a second, "if they cannot locate you or your brother within a certain period of time, then the estate goes to next of kin; which means Sophia, that's what I need to talk to you about"

Daryl massaged the bridge of his nose, He still couldn't get past the fact that his father had all this secret money stashed somewhere and yet they could barely afford to keep the damn lights on in their house.

"So let them give it to Sophia… I don't want that assholes money" he finally said, shaking his head as he reached for a cigarette.

"Daryl… this is a lot of money we're talkin' about" Carol tried to reason; but he wasn't having it.

"I don't give a shit! I don't want anything that has to do with him… I don't have it now, and I don't need it. I never took a hand out from him ever in my entire life, and I ain't about to do it now that he's dead either"

The conversation grew silent for a few minutes, until Daryl continued.

"Jus' let them turn it over to Sophia… she could use it for college or somethin' when she's older"

"You're gonna' have to contact this woman than… otherwise, I'd be committing a crime by lying and saying that I don't know your whereabouts. You have to contact them and transfer it to Sophia, if that's what you want to do"

"Whatever, does the woman have a number?"

"Yes, it's 555-8525. She said she's in the office from 9-4 Monday through Friday. Call her and talk to her, maybe you might change your mind… jus' hear her out"

"I'm not gonna' change my mind, but I'll call her, so I can find out how to get this shit over with"

"Fine. Just let me know what's goin' on after you talk to her"

"Aright I will"

Daryl was about to get ready to hang up the phone; but then Carol continued.

"Daryl, the only thing is… what if Merle is out there somewhere?"

"I doubt it" Daryl said as he spoke about his brother, the thought still pained him, "It's been too long, god only knows what happened to em'"

Carol didn't say anything, afraid to say anything wrong.

"Listen I gotta' go" Daryl said as he heard the chugging of Beth's engine pulling up outside, "I'll call you when I talk to this woman"

"Alright"

"Tell Sophia I love her" Daryl said quickly before hanging the phone up and getting up to open his front door and greet Beth.

He had no idea what to even think, and his mind was a complete mess after that conversation. All he knew was that he hated his father more at that moment, and then he ever did.

"Hey you" Beth said with a big smile as Daryl opened the door and let her inside.

"Hey" he responded in a low tone, his voice a little hardened and his mind a bit distracted as he shut the door behind her.

Beth leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the lips, and immediately noticed his uneasy facial expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a little worried that he was mad at her for some reason.

"Nothin', sorry, I was jus' thinkin' about somethin', that's all" he lied and then kissed Beth back on the lips, "I'm glad you're here"

Beth reciprocated the kiss; but she still wondered whether or not something was actually wrong with Daryl, "Do I smell bacon?" she said with a confused grin, glancing over towards the pan on the stove.

"Yeah, I uh- I don't know, it was the only thing I could think of to get" Daryl said a little nervous, "Are you a fan of breakfast for dinner? Cause if not, I won't be offended"

Beth gave a warm smile and placed her finger on Daryl's lips, in efforts to quiet him from rambling out of nervousness, "Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, its perfect okay?" Daryl gave a quick nod and Beth lowered her fingers, "I brought you something" she said and quickly reached into her bag; Daryl's eyebrows creasing in curiosity as she grabbed a medium sized box out of her bag.

"What's this?" he asked as she handed it to him.

"Jus' open it" she directed with a big smile on her face, "It's nothing too crazy, jus' thought you'd like it"

Daryl slowly opened the plain white box and pulled a medium sized frame out of it, which held a picture of him and his daughter at the park this past weekend. Sophia was hugging him tightly and they were both looking at the camera with big smiles on their faces. Daryl just stared at the picture for a few minutes, totally captivated by it. No one ever gave him anything really, his entire life, and even though it wasn't anything fancy, it was the best gift he could have ever received.

His eyes met Beth's and his hand immediately rose to her cheek, pulling her towards him and kissing her gently in between whispering "Thank you" to her a few times. After, he then wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly as he felt an overwhelming amount of thankfulness for having such a kind hearted and caring person in his life.

"So I guess it's safe to say that you like it then huh?" Beth said jokingly as Daryl loosened his grip around her.

"I fuckin' love it Beth, seriously, thank you… this is… amazing" he said as he looked back down at the picture again.

"Good, I'm glad. And you're welcome" she said with a smile, "I figured you needed some pictures around in here"

"That's for sure" he said, and then made his way over towards the desk, where he stood the frame up on top of it, "perfect" he said as he adjusted it just right.

Beth smiled as she watched and then took a seat on the couch. Daryl walked over and kissed her once more on the lips, before handing her the remote.

"I don't have cable or nothin' but you can find somethin' to watch while I finish cookin'"

Beth nodded and Daryl began walking over towards the kitchen.

"I can get used to this ya' know?" Beth shouted out jokingly, and Daryl turned around to see the blonde kicking her shoes off and stretching out on the couch, while she flicked through the limited channels.

"Oh yeah?" he shouted back as he started cracking open a couple of eggs, "I'll do it every day if you wanted; but under one condition though…"

Beth turned around on the couch with a smirk on her face, "Oh yeah, and what's that?"

Daryl turned around momentarily and gave her a quick wink, "As long as you provide the dessert" he said with a frisky smirk followed by a quick glide of his tongue across his top lip.

Beth blushed; just the thought made her body quiver, she'd never been so attracted to someone before, "We'll see" she said playfully before turning around and laughing at her own stubbornness.

Daryl just shook his head and continued cooking the food. Her playing hard to get was even more enticing to him.

**XxxxX**

* * *

Daryl leaned back lethargically against the couch, pulling Beth in towards him; her head resting against his chest as they both coped with the results of having full stomachs.

"Thank you for cooking for me" Beth said softly, as she entwined her fingers with Daryl's, softly stroking his thumb with hers.

"It was nothing special… jus' eggs and bacon" he said plainly.

"So what… it was still special to me" she said, glancing up at him through the corner of her eyes, "I'm really jus' a simple girl Daryl… I don't need anything fancy ya' know… jus' the effort is enough for me"

Daryl was unsure of what to say, all he knew was that he'd never had feelings for anyone so deeply in his entire life.

"You're somethin' else, ya' know that Beth" he whispered, staring down at the blonde cuddled in his arms, "I'm serious, I've never met anyone like ya' before"

Beth smiled as she stared at their entwined fingers, "Here I thought you hated me the first night we met" she said with a small laugh and Daryl let a chuckle slip from his mouth as well.

"Ha! I did, at that point… I thought you were nosey and annoying" he said while continuing to laugh, and Beth playfully nudged him with her elbow. "But I don't know… the more I talked to ya', it's like we jus' clicked or somethin'… I don't know, sounds cheesy I guess" he said, the laughter settling and his tone becoming softer.

"It's not cheesy" Beth argued, "I think it's sweet, and besides… after how I acted in the barn that night, I'm surprised you even spoke to me again… I'm surprised you didn't think I was jus' some classless dumb college girl whore or somethin'"

"Nah" Daryl said softly, "I knew you were jus' drunk and upset… although, I have to admit, I almost couldn't say no to you though"

Beth giggled, "Well I'm glad you did" she said, turning her face towards him, "I like that I can actually remember the first time anything happened between us"

Daryl stared at Beth's face, the moonlight from the window shining in and highlighting her features perfectly. He gently slid his finger across her forehead, swiping her blonde hair to the side as she snuggled into his shoulder.

"I have a question for you" he said softly, returning his hand back into hers, "you never told me what you're studying in college"

"Social Work" Beth replied simply, "I want to work with foster children someday"

Daryl nodded, but he wasn't shocked at all. Seeing the way Beth was with Sophia, he could tell that she had a way with children; that she was patient and loving.

"Wow" he said simply, "you really are amazing Beth, seriously"

Beth smiled and then turned to kiss him softly, "So are you Daryl Dixon, so are you".

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

* * *

Carol walked outside to her job parking lot; she had a fifteen minute break to kill and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it, being that she was working a long nine-hour, over-night shift.

As she leaned up against the cement wall, she pulled her phone out of her pocket to make sure she didn't have any missed calls. After seeing nothing on the screen, she placed it back into her pocket and then leaned her head back, taking in the view of the night sky and shutting her eyes momentarily as she felt a wave of tiredness rush over her.

"Well, well, well" a familiar scruffy voice flooded her ears, "Don't you look tired"

Carol shot her head forward to find the one man she never expected to see standing in front of her again, "Merle?" she asked, completely confused.

A big devilish grin cracked across his scruffy face as he confirmed her question without even having to answer. Carol just looked at him, he eyes widened and her expression quickly changing from confusion to worry.

**XxxxxX**

* * *

**A/N: I know a cliffhanger? Sorry! :) But get ready, cause things are about to shake up! **

**Again, thanks for the love guys, I appreciated it! **

**Until next time… xoxo**


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